Awkward Moments
by DamonsDarkness
Summary: What happens if a hot, blonde surfer enters Suze's life? Are his intentions different to Jesse's? Both guys are hot & desperately want Suze. Only Difference: one is holding back their love, the other is not!
1. Default Chapter

**It's My Life**

It's been a while now since I've moved to Carmel, and I must admit things have been going pretty good. I've had my ups and downs of course, like any other 16 year old would… apart from the whole ghost thing anyway.

I still haven't really been out on a date yet… with any guy. I mean, it's not like guys haven't asked… they have, but I'm always the one who's cancelling or turning them down.

There are always these stupid ghosts that keep me from having a normal life! But then again, I'll never have a normal life…

I mean, who could possibly understand?

Jesse has always been there for me though, always comforting and watching over me.

Until that time a month ago, where something went wrong while trying to banish this ghost to the afterlife.

Jesse had turned up, not knowing what I was doing, and even though I had managed to get rid of the ghost with the incantation… as a side effect of Jesse entering three quarters of the way in, he can now no longer dematerialise.

Which has been really funny sometimes… now that he just can't disappear whenever he feels like it.

Not like I'm complaining, always having him around… I actually like it better than before… always knowing he'll be there, day and night.

It was all great, until… 'The accident'.

**The Accident - Saturday Morning**

I was sitting in a chair in a hospital room. It wasn't me who was injured… although it almost would have been, if this guy, Brett hadn't saved my life.

Today is Saturday, and this morning, Cee Cee, Adam and I had decided to go down to the mall. We went into 'Surfection', which had all the latest clothing and surf gear…

Not that I was interested in surfboards or anything but I was checking out the designs, as Cee Cee was taking ages in the dressing room, and Adam was chatting up some blonde chick.

Then all of a sudden this surfie looking ghost guy had come up beside me with his two-metre surfboard in his arms and spat his whole 'why am I'm dead' story to me.

When I told him that I needed some time to think about how I could help him, he went ballistic on me and said that I was the reason something was keeping him here.

I got pissed off with his attitude and punched the 'invisible' surfboard out of his arm.

This didn't go down to well with him, and as a result he picked it back up and swung it around, trying to knock me out. As I ducked out of the way, he hit the display shelf behind me, which held about 30 boards.

This guy who turned down the aisle, noticed the display shelf was about to fall on me, so he jumped out and pushed me out of the way.

In the end, I was ok, but this amazingly hot, blonde guy had been crushed, with a massive amount of fibreglass boards on top of him.

Anyway, he was taken to hospital, unconscious and was suspected of having a few broken bones.

I was aloud to stay with him, as I had told the nurses that I was his girlfriend… cough, cough.

After he had gained consciousness, and realised where he was, and what had happened to him, I introduced myself to him and took a seat by his bed.

"I'm Brett" He managed, smiling at me.

He actually looked happy to meet me, considering he didn't know me.

His hair was golden blonde and kind of spiked up at the top. He had bright blue eyes, tanned skin and was very muscular.

"I'm glad you're all right" he said

"Thanks to you… anyway, I'm the one who's supposed to say that to you" I laughed.

"I'm glad that you didn't break any bones, because of me"

"Nah, I'm too strong" He tried to laugh. "Anyway, it was defiantly worth it" He said looking me up and down.

I blushed as I pulled a few strands of hair behind my ear.

"Um, I better be getting home…"

"Oh" He looked disappointed. "Would you be able to come back and chat later on?"

"Don't you have family, or a… girlfriend on the way over here?"

He looked down kind of upset.

"Nah, my old man's dead, and my mums so lazy… she couldn't care less about me"

I wasn't sure what to say to him.

"I don't have a girlfriend… but you did claim to the nurses that you were mine…" He smiled, showing his perfectly white teeth.

"Aye? I don't know what you…"

"I heard the nurses when you stepped out before, Suze… talking about how sweet it was that my 'girlfriend' was here for me".

Oh shit, I feel like such an idiot.

"That's how they let you in here, aye? Told them you belonged with me?"

"I'm so sorry, Brett… I just wanted to make sure you were all right and all…" I was so embarrassed.

"Hey, don't be sorry. I'm grateful you did, otherwise I'd be rather lonely" He smiled again.

Then I looked over at the clock on the wall.

"Go home, Suze" He told me.

"I'll see if I can come back after dinner, is that ok?"

"I'll be counting every second" He said taking my hand in his.

I looked at him in the eyes, he seemed so sweet… and he seemed to want to see me again.

"You try and get some rest, Brett" I smiled.

I let go of his hand and waved goodbye as I left the room.


	2. I'll Be Back

**I'll Be Back**

When I had arrived home, I explained to my parents (making sure my brothers weren't around) about what had happened, and how this guy, Brett had saved me.

I kind of lied though, and told them that he went to my school (which he didn't) and that I had known him before our encounter today.

Ok, I admit that I really don't like lying to anyone… but I had to go back and keep him company, he had no one else who cared that he was even injured.

Jesse knew me better though…

"Susannah, why are you doing this? You don't have to…"

I finished brushing my hair, sighed, and picked up my jacket.

"You don't even know him, do you?" Jesse asked.

I looked into his eyes; he always managed to squeeze the truth out of me.

"You can fool you parents Susannah, but you…"

"They wouldn't understand, I had to lie" I said interrupting him.

Jesse started walking back and forth in front of me, trying to reason with me… he was hopeless… gorgeous, but hopeless.

"What's his name?"

"Brett"

"What's his _full_ name Susannah!"

I ignored him as I sat on my bed and started to put my shoes on.

He took it that I didn't know… which I didn't.

"He doesn't go to you school does he?"

"No"

"How old is he?"

"Look, Jesse! …" I yelled, suddenly standing up.

He was startled and jumped back. Even though I hate it when he lectures me… I can't yell at him, or well if I do, I always apologise. Because I know that he's only trying to protect me.

So I lowered my tone and apologised to him.

"… I – I just want to do this ok, he's injured, and in hospital… I'm sure you'd do the same… you know make sure they're all right"

Jesse gave in and told me that even though he didn't like it, he respected my decision.

I went downstairs and ate dinner with the family and then Andy drove me down to the hospital… wondering how on earth I had convinced them into letting me stay over night.

I thought Brett was sleeping when I had entered his empty hospital room... 

He was lying on his back and I could see his body moving up and down with every breath that he took.

As I sat down in a chair, which was about a metre away from the side of Brett's bed, I thought about what Jesse had said to me earlier.

It felt weird, why was I really here though?

I really didn't know this guy at all, I thought as I looked over at him.

Then I felt a tickle in my nose. Oh no, I was going to sneeze. I tried to hold it back but I couldn't…

He opened his eyes suddenly and they immediately were fixated on mine. He smiled.

"I didn't think you'd actually come back"

"Well, I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I knew you were here all alone… after you've saved me and all"

"You are one truly amazing girl, Suze" His grin was as wide as ever.

"Hah, you haven't gotten to know me yet!" I laughed, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"How about we change that… When I get out of here, one time, could I take you out? To say thanks for staying and everything"

"Um, yeah, I'd like that… just as friends?"

He smiled and leant his head back against the pillow.

"Hey Brett, I'm a little thirsty… I'm gonna grab something down the hall… can I get you anything?"

"All I need is already here!" He smiled.   
I blushed a little. "Ok, well, I'll be back in a minute" 

He nodded his head and closed his eyes again to rest.

I left the room and made my way down the hall to the vending machine, which we had passed on the way in. After inserting my money and selecting a bottle of water and some snacks, I made my way back to Brett's room.

"Hey, I'm back, did ya miss me?" I asked mucking around.

"I did miss you" He said trying to sit up and look at me.

"Ssssh, just rest…" I told him, walking over and gently guiding his body back down.

I sat on the chair next to his bed and started eating a chocolate bar.

Then I noticed a few children books on the small table behind me.

"I've got a good way to pass the time and send you to sleep" I said, making my way over to the small table and started sifting through the childish books.

"You want me to fall asleep?" He asked, kind of sadly.

I smiled and sat back down on the chair after I had chosen a book.

"I'm going to read to you"

"You're gonna read me a bedtime story?"

"Yeah, got a problem with that?" I asked, as if offended that he didn't want me to.

"No, not at all… please go ahead" He tried to chuckle as he closed his eyes.

"Ok…" I opened the book up and giggled slightly. "The Little Tug Boat Story" I began only to have him interrupt me.

"The little _what_?" He asked abruptly.

"Hey if you're gonna knock the story I chose, then maybe…"

"…No, please… I'd love to hear about The Little Tug Boat".

I continued to read the book. The whole time I could feel his eyes upon me. I knew this because every now and then I'd look up and see his beautiful eyes staring back at me… I don't think he really cared about the story, but I think he just wanted to listen to the sound of my voice.

It made him happy… and it was the least I could do, after all, he kinda saved my life.

"…The End" I said pleased with my story telling and closed the book.

"Wow, I never knew you read those kinda books" He chuckled trying to adjust his pillow.

I laughed at his comment and help him move the pillow. He looked at me intently.

"Yeah…well…" I tried to think of what to say, just as a nurse stepped in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've come to change your bandages for the night, Brett" She looked at over at me and gave a 'can you please leave' kind of look.

"I'll be back in a minute, Brett" I said looking down at him.

He gave me a look that seemed as though he didn't think I would be returning.

I closed the door behind me and waited out in the hallway.

After a while the nurse had left and told me I could go back in to see him. So I did.

Brett was surprised to see me enter again.

"Suze, call your father, go home, it's late, you need some rest" He demanded.

"It's ok Brett, I told my parents I was gonna stay the night" I said as I sat back down on the chair.

"But… you hardly know me, why?"

"Well… if I were lying there, well, I wouldn't want to be left alone in this place" I said looking around the empty room.

Then he reached his arm over and held onto my hand.

"Thank you Suze" He whispered. "You're truly special!"

I smiled and rubbed his hand with my thumb.

A few minutes later and he fell asleep exhausted. I pulled the covers up to his shoulder and moved his hand back onto the bed.

We were abruptly woken the next morning by a different nurse from last night. She had come in to check how Brett was going. The curtains were violently pushed back, letting the sunlight sweep over our groggy faces.

I realised that my head was lying on the bed mattress next to Brett's pillow.


	3. Grandma's Visit

**Grandma's Visit - Tuesday Night **

A few days later, Brett had asked if he could take me out, you know to say thanks and everything.

I was all excited about my first real date… which Brett and I made quite clear was just a 'friends kind of date' but still… I didn't have a clue what to wear because Brett hadn't told me were he was taking me.

I layed quite a few different combinations of outfit on my bed and mixed them around, trying to find the perfect one.

"Jesse, I need your help" I whined.

He looked up from his book.

"You want my advice?" He asked rather surprised. "You always bite my head off when I voice my opinion about clothes"

"Please, Jesse…" I motioned with my arm for him to come over to the bed and take a look.

He put the book down and walked over, running his hand through his thick, dark hair.

"Ok, as a guy, what do you like?" I put my hands on my hips and looked down at the clothes.

"As a respectable guy, I believe you should wear something casual and simple on your first date" He said as he scanned over my clothes selection.

I sighed.

"Jesse, this is the 21st century remember, this is what a girl wears on a date"

He picked up a rather small red spandex top, covered with dymontes, which had lace straps. You could tell it would be rather revealing.

He held it up towards me and raised his eyebrows.

"This is what a 21st century swinger girl would wear on her first date"

I can't believe he just said that! Well, not like I've have ever worn that top… it was just in case if some party came around and I wanted to impress someone… honestly. And the fact that it was half price in Suprè.

I took the top of him and shoved it back into my dresser.

"Have you actually worn that thing?" He asked kind of in disgust.

"No, Jesse, I have not… Now please help me decide" I said picking up a silk skirt.

"What if he takes you somewhere outside? You already know he's skipping right past dinner…"

I looked at him suspiciously, was he trying to suggest that Brett had other intentions of what he wanted to do with me?

"Jesse, it's not like that, were just friends"

"That's always what the girl thinks… but the guy on the other hand…"

"Jesse!" I hit him on the side of his upper arm… which was strong by the way.

I knew he was generally worried for me, I could see it in his eyes.

"Look…" I started as I took his hand in mine. "I know you don't know Brett, and I know you're worried about this whole thing, but please Jesse… you can trust me when I say that he's a nice guy…"

He squeezed my hand tighter.

I knew he was about to say something, but he managed to hold back whatever it was.

Then someone knocked on my door.

"Come in" I said letting go of Jesse's hand.

My mother poked her head through. I just wanted to let you know that Andy is on his way back with Grandma, and I'd appreciate it if you could talk to her before you go"

"But…" I started.

"No 'Buts' Suzie, you avoided her at the wedding last time. This time, I'm sending her up to see your room" My mother said sternly.

I agreed and she left my room and closed the door.

"Oh Querida, I knew that you treated old cats badly, but your old Grandmother?" He shook his head, teasing me.

"You just wait until she gets up here, then even you'll understand!" I laughed.

Finally I had decided about what I was going to wear. I stepped out of my bathroom wearing a green, lycra boob tube which had a lighter green laced ribbon which ran through the top part where it tied in a bow at the front holding it up and keeping it tightly in place.

It fitted my figure perfectly and stopped right on the waistline of my jeans. A pair of dark denim fitted jeans, which hugged my hips, and flared out slightly below the knees... oh and of course, I wore my favourite pair of black ankle boots.

"How do I look?" I asked Jesse, turning around.

"Fantastic" He said without enthusiasm.

Then I heard someone coming up the stairs.

"Brace yourself" I whispered to Jesse, who seemed willing to find out why I dreaded my grandmother so much.

The door swung open and in wobbled this little, plumpish, old lady with her grey hair tied up in a tight bun and her wide brimmed glasses.

"Oh my little Susannah" She gave me a huge kiss and hugged me tight.

"You have grown up into such a beautiful young lady, my dear. You know, you do remind me so much of myself when I was your age."

"Um, I do?" I asked uncomfortably.

"Yes dear, that was before I grew grey hairs, developed wrinkles and put on a few extra pounds". She said eying me.

"Andy told me about your date tonight, how exciting" She said holding her hands to her mouth.

"Twirl for me darl"

I awkwardly did a little spin for her. Then she half turned me towards Jesse, who sat there watching, waiting to see what my grandma would do next.

"I like the fitted jeans, they show your figure… you've got beautiful hips love. I bet you're the envy of every girl when you hit the dance floor, hey?" She nudged me.

I took a glance at Jesse who seemed to find this whole touchy, feely thing fascinating.

"And this sexy little top, I love it!" She said turning me towards the window.

OMG I thought screwing my face up with my eyes closed… I really didn't want to see Jesse's face checking me out in front of my grandma.

"It highlights you're breasts…"

"Grandma!" I said covering up my chest with my arms and turning my back towards Jesse.

"What? Don't be ashamed of your chest dear. Every guy in town would agree that they are perfect. You know, not too little, but not too large that they take the focus off your face. Your face which is…"

"Ok, Grandma, thanks for the analysis…" I said quickly trying to make her stop.

"…And your hair…" She continued as if not listening to me.

Then my mother stepped into the room.

"I think it's about time to get going, mum. You don't want Suzie to be late for her date do you?" My mother said guiding her towards my door.

"It was wonderful to see you all grown up, Susannah" She said, winking at me.

I turned to Jesse, who was extremely surprised and stunned.

"And you wanted to know why I dread seeing her?" I said with my hands on my hips.

He laughed. "Next time when you tell me that you dread seeing someone, even if they are family, I'll take your word for it".


	4. The Date

**The Date - Tuesday Night**

There was a knock at the door. I grabbed my black jacket and quickly headed towards the door.

"Querida" I heard Jesse say in a worried tone.

I turned to face him.

"Please be careful…"

"Don't worry so much, Jesse… you'll get wrinkles" I giggled as his face expressed a funny sense of confusion, and how I could tell that he didn't approve of this whole situation.

I left the room hurrying down the stairs, to where my gorgeous date was waiting behind the door.

"Wow, you look beautiful!" He commented on my outfit.

"You don't look to bad yourself" I said eying him up and down as he linked his arm in mine and headed towards his dark blue car.

He started up the engine and before I knew it we were off, speeding down the road.

"So where are you taking me?" I asked excitedly.

"It's a surprise," Brett said looking over at me briefly. "You'll love it Suze, just sit back and relax".

We turned down a side road, which I knew led down to the beach.

Finally we pulled up in the beach car park and he switched off the ignition. Then he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face me.

I sat there kind of feeling a little uncomfortable. He leaned over and slowly unbuckled my seat belt guiding it off my body.

Ok, what is he doing? I nervously thought.

"You're so beautiful Suze". He smiled as he gently ran his fingers down the side of my hair.

Don't get me wrong, it did feel good to have this hot surfer run his hand through my hair, but I wasn't used to this sort of stuff… and I didn't _really_ know the guy all to well.

"I…um, need some fresh air" I said panicking and opening up the door to get out.

He stepped out the other side.

"I'm sorry, I was rushing it, I'm sorry Suze" He said walking around to my side of the car. With his half unbuttoned navy shirt blowing in the wind.

I closed the door. "It's ok, I'm just not, ah used to this sort of thing"

Oh good one Suze, tell the hot guy you've never been on a date, good one!

He smiled and took my hand as he guided me down along the beach.

"Where are we going?" I asked, getting a little nervous.

"When are you going to trust me Suze?" Then he turned to face me.

"I just wish you would wake up and realise what we could be".

He said looking longingly into my eyes as he now held onto both of my hands.

I really don't think this guy wants to be just friends. I mean, I did like him, but I don't like guys who rush… especially when they don't really know me.

"Let go!" I shouted as I quickly pulled from hands from his grip.

He looked stunned at my response.

"Ok, I thought we were just friends…" I started.

"Suze, chill out will you. Look, if you're so paranoid about it…" He rubbed his check and scanned the ground around as if looking for something.

Then he bent down and picked up a stick.

"… Then take this, and if I do anything which upsets you, then just stab me with it, ok?"

I raised my eyebrows as I looked down at the stick he had handed to me, and then up at him. All right this is just a little bit weird I thought to myself.

"Ok, look just forget about it, c'mon" I said dropping the stick and continued along the beach.

We walked up a steep hill and were almost there when I started to feel a little dizzy. I held my hand to my head.

"Hey, are you ok?" Brett asked, walking back down towards me and putting an arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah, I fine, just a little tired" I said ignoring the dizzy feeling.

"We're almost there now Suze" Brettsaid excitedly as he continued to the top of the hill.

He did have a good arse, that's for sure… not that I was fixated on it or anything...

When I had finally made it to the top I thought man, I need to get out a little more or start up jogging or something. I turned and looked down the hill.

"This hill so doesn't look that high from when we were standing at the bottom down there" I puffed.

Then I heard Brett calling my name. "Suze, C'mon, you gotta see this.

I turned around and saw a huge rock in which you had to climb to see out onto the ocean from the other side. And Brett, who was standing with his hands on his hips waiting for me the climb up, looking rather handsome though if I must say.

I mumbled to myself as I carefully placed my feet into crevices in the rock face and pulled myself up.

Brett outstretched his arm. "Do you need help?"

I took his hand and he hoisted me up… not very gently though.

"Shit, are you trying to break my bones"

I said angrily, as he hurt my arms in the process…and because I was pissed at the whole rock-climbing thing in my nice outfit.

I almost stumbled over when he brought me up. But he caught me in his arms, and they were strong arms.

He held me for a second and then he slowly spun me around towards the ocean.

I moved my arms over my chest, as that's where he seemed to want to wrap his arms around.

"Look at this" He said quietly in my ear.

I took my mind off the whole arms being around my chest thing and took the time to see what he meant.

"Wow, there are so many colours"

I said gazing as the lights kinda reflected, bouncing off the gentle waves, hypnotising me.

Then he whispered in my ear. "Starlight, star bright, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight"

I closed my eyes trying not to think about what Brett's wish might be, as the soft gentle breeze ran across my face and wisped through my hair.

"Do you know what my wish would be, Suze?"

He asked gently, turning me around and holding down my hair which was blowing in the wind.

I was panicking inside. Here I was, alone with this guy, hot surfer guy… who I didn't know all to well, even though he had saved my life, and I had stayed with him that night at the hospital… but still, that didn't mean I wanted to get with the guy.

"I, d-don't know Brett…" was all I could manage to say.

"Just being out here with you… you know, it kinda makes me wish I could…"

Oh crap, he was the typical seventeen-year-old male who just wanted to get layed!

I took a step away from him, and he didn't even try to force me back towards him.

Instead he headed off towards the cliff face.

"…FLY" He finally finished.

OMG, is he suicidal?

"What are you doing?"

I yelled and stepped forward to grab his arm. He turned towards me and looked down at my serious face and smiled with an evil grin.

"I just wanted to see your reaction" He laughed.

"Well, it wasn't funny Brett!" I said turning to leave.

"Leaving already?" he called walking after me.

"Yes, it's getting dark, and I have to be home before 9:00pm" It was a school night and it was mum's rules not to stay out after 9:00pm.

We made our way back to where Brett had park his car. I didn't really feel like talking to him the whole way back and besides, my head was starting to hurt now.

He leaned against the passenger side door and turned to face me.

"Suze, thank you for coming out here with me tonight and all"

Yeah, It was a blast! I felt like saying, but instead I settled with

"Yeah, it was nice".

"Hey, I'm sorry about before…I just, wanted to see if you cared or not"

"I'm not about to let some guy jump of a cliff! Are you insane? What did you think I would think?" I blurted out, all frustrated.

"Some guy? Is that all I am to you… Some guy?"

He looked upset as he took me by the arms, pulled me towards him to close the gap between us.

The dizziness came back all of a sudden, and I grabbed onto Brett's shirt to support me.

"Whoa, take it easy Suze! Don't get all desperate on me"

He wrapped his arms around me. One hand was on the back of my head, holding it against his chest and the other started to wander down to where the space of my back was showing between my top and jeans.

It did feel good, someone caressing me… something I haven't really felt before, but my head was spinning… and I'm sure it wasn't from Brett.

"Brett, my…head…"

"Sssshhh… just relax Suze"

He said as he moved his other hand down to follow his first one, which by now had found its way up my back.

His hands were rubbing my back, beneath my jacket and against my top material.

I let out a sigh of pleasure. I couldn't help it; he made me go all tingly.

He brought his hands out from my back and slowly with one of them tilted my head, so it looked up into his face.

My dizziness suddenly faded as I looked into his big blue eyes.

The gentle wind continued to play with my hair, making the ends gently swirl around in the air.

"You are so beautiful"

Brett whispered as he slowly brought his lips down and kissed me on the forehead.

Not as nicely as Jesse had done once, but still rather sweet.

Then his lips slowly moved down my check, gently rubbing against my skin.

"Brett, I don't think I…"

But it was too late, his lips slowly moved over mine, blocking out the words I was going to say.

It was a gentle kiss, not full on, but it was sweet. He slowly ended the kiss and smiled as he brought his head back up.

My mouth stayed slightly opened; I was in shocked at how good it felt to be kissed.

He gave a soft laugh.

"You liked that huh?" He asked smiling.

I continued to act like a stunned mullet, frozen there.

While one hand started to massage the back of my neck, the other had opened up the back door.

Oh no, I wasn't ready for this yet, I thought.

Then he slowly lowered my black jacket from my shoulders, bringing it down from my arms, rubbing across my skin with his thumb as he went.

He threw the jacket in the back seat of the car.

"You wanna follow it in?"

He asked, smiling down at my bare shoulders as he rubbed them. He could tell by the look on my face, and the way I sort of shivered, that my nerves were getting the better of me.

"I'm a professional massager, you know…" He whispered. "…And your muscles seem tense"

I was feeling rather vulnerable right about now. He smiled and looked into my eyes.

"I'm not gonna do anything you don't want me to…"

Then he guided me into the back seat. I shuffled over to the other side as he followed behind me. He sat sideways on the seat and he turned me gently, with my back facing him.

Then he took my hair in his hands, put it over my right shoulder and immediately started massaging my back.

OMG, I'm telling you it felt damn good! I smiled and moaned silently with pleasure. I was in heaven as I felt his soft hands caressing my skin.

They were not as soft as Jesse's though, and then I thought about what it would be like if it were Jesse doing this to me.

Then I got 'lost' and slipped into an imaginary fantasy thinking that it was actually Jesse who was behind me.

I made pleasurable noises showing that I enjoyed it. Brett realised this and gently moved his arms on my waist and pulled me back into his lap.

As I leant against his masculine body, his hands wandered around to my stomach, slowly starting to make their way under the front of my top.

"Oh Jesse!" I cried out, placing my hands on his.

Brett was too distracted about where his hands were heading that he hadn't realised that I had called him Jesse.

Then I suddenly snapped out of it and realised that this definitely _wasn't _Jesse. I pulled his hands out from my shirt, when I caught I glimpse at his watch.

"Shit! It's 9:15" I yelled.

I sat up and turned to face him kind of awkwardly.

"I'm sorry Brett, it's just, my parents will…"

"It's Ok, I understand" He interrupted rubbing his hand along my leg.

"Maybe we'll continue some other time, hey?"

I kind of smiled at his remark and stepped out and made my way to the passenger side.

We got into the car and I buckled my seat belt in. Brett just sat there staring out the window for a minute before starting up the ignition.

Finally we arrived home at about 9.26pm and I knew I'd be all right making up a good excuse to my parents…

But Jesse on the other hand, was not one to be fooled.

Brett pulled up outside my house and turned the ignition off.

I started to unbuckle my seat belt, and then I felt his hand on mine. I looked over at his smiling face. He was a good-looking guy… for a surfer. His blonde hair was neat and spiked up at the top.

"One time you should come down to the salon, where I work part time, massaging" He said smiling.

"Um, yeah… that would be cool" I said anxiously wanting to get out of the car.

I got out and opened up the back to reach for my jacket.

As I bent over, I felt Brett's hips push up against my butt and his hands ran slowly down my legs. I was startled and bumped my head against the inside of the car.

He noticed and put a hand over mine and brought me out of the car, turning me around.

I knew Jesse would have been watching this from my window, and boy was I gonna cop an earful!

Brett was still standing so close to me that I was pinned between him and the car.

"Please, Brett, don't ruin this…" I said as I could feel his chest move in on mine.

He backed off a little when I had said that, and I quickly ducked to the side out of his way. I didn't managed to get far before he had grabbed my arm, spun me around and pressed his lips against mine.

I pulled my head back quickly.

"Ok, well, thanks for taking me out tonight, Brett"

I said walked backwards towards the house, holding my jacket in front of my chest.

"We'll do it again sometime, yeah?" He asked giving me a devilish grin.

"Goodnight, Brett" I said reaching the front porch.

"Night, Suze".

I put my jacket back on and stepped inside.

I had explained to mum and Andy that one of the tyres had punctured and we had to change it… causing the time delay. They believed me… I was home in one piece, which was all that mattered.

As I was slowly trudged up the stairs, I really dreaded to think what Jesse was going to say to me. Him being this old-fashioned humble guy and all.

It was all mapped out in my head. I would walk in, grab my Pj's and claim that I was just too tired to talk. Oh well, might as well face up to him.

I slowly opened my door preparing myself for a bunch of Spanish words to be thrown violently in my face. Nothing, it was silent, but he was there on the window seat as I had expected.

I walked towards my dresser noticing that he stayed still, staring out the window, leaving me with the back of his head. I gathered up my Pj's feeling awkward with the whole silent treatment issue happening.

The shower water was so warm as it touched my face and ran down my body.

How come Jesse hadn't gotten mad or yelled profanities at me in Spanish?

He'd only really kind of yelled at me once or twice… the other times were in front of me, but he was always referring to something else.

How come not tonight? When this deserved a yelling at.

Hold on, why should I be yelled at. Brett was nice to me; it's not like he really forced me into sex or anything, really… and so I'm a little bit late? I'm only human.

I don't know, maybe Jesse didn't see what had happened outside after all; maybe he was just staring out of the window… pissed of that I was late… I don't know.

I got changed into the clothes I was wearing to bed and dried my hair with the blow drier.

As I opened up the bathroom door, I was greeted with an all so rude bunch of crap in Spanish.

"_No puedo creer que usted se bajó a ese nivel y sueño con el bastardo_!" He said, avoiding my gaze and throwing his arms helplessly in the air. 

Oh well, there go my theories, his emotions finally blew up.

Not that I understood a word of what he was saying… or though I think the 'bastardo' is obviously being used to describe Brett.

I ducked under his waving arms and headed towards my bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" He said annoyed at me not paying attention to him.

"It's not polite to walk off when someone's talking to you"

"Oh, talking… is that what you're calling this episode?" I said in a sarcastic tone and got into bed and sat up.

He stood there and frowned at me.

"You're speaking in another language, man, how am I supposed to listen?" and with that I layed down on my side with my back faced to Jesse.

He walked around to the other side of the bed to face me.

"How could you do this? Did he pressure you?"

What? Did Jesse think that we had sex or something?

"Jessie…"

I sat up and tried to but in, but he it didn't look like he cared what I had to say.

"You've only just met the guy for heaven sake!"

He continued and turned his tone down as he sat on my bed.

"I thought I knew you better. I thought you had dignity… in yourself. Self-respect… for your body… I thought you stood up for yourself."

I looked at him, mortified…

"Jessie…"

I tried to talk again as I reached out and took hold of his hands. He quickly moved his hands out from my grasp as if mine were on fire.

"Fine then, I won't talk to you!" I yelled and threw myself down, pulling the covers up.

"Susannah… Look, I…" He started. Then he made a frustrated/furious sound and got up.

"Well I hope for your sake that he used protection!"

He declared, starting to turn his back on me.

"The only thing I need protection from right now, is you! I muttered.

"Usted es tan grosero!"

He turned back around and said sternly with his hands on his hips looking over at me huddled up in my covers.

"There you go again," I sighed closing my eyes.

"_You are so rude_!" He said frustrated and walked off to the window seat to read his book.  
"I hate you" I said under my breath, which I shouldn't have, cause he heard and that pissed him off even more. 

He slammed the book hard and stared icily at me.

I knew he was about to say something else, but what ever it was, he managed to hold it back.

Then I layed back and tried to think of happy thoughts like my kiss with Brett and the way that he had touched me. I shivered and closed my eyes.

He wouldn't talk to me the next morning, until I was just about to leave.

"Don't go to the mall this afternoon… We don't want any more _accidents_"

He muttered, avoiding my gaze.

"Oh, don't you worry Jesse… 'Accidents' don't occur in the same place twice!" I said icily.

"Oh, and Jesse…"

I said brightly, turning around just before opening the door.

"Just for your information, Brett and I did _not_ do it last night!"

I winced at him, clearly highlighting the 'not', and left before he had time to say anything.


	5. Is He Over It?

**Jogging - Wednesday Night**

After school the next day, Cee Cee and I had arranged to jog around the park, down near the school. It was my suggestion. I don't know, I guess I didn't like looking like an unfit fool in front of Brett last night, when I was having trouble walking up that hill and complaining.

We really looked the part of joggers; it must have looked like we knew what we were doing. It was all quite funny.

My hair was tied back in a ponytail, which some strands at the front, which had escaped and blew helplessly in the wind.

I wore black fitted ¾ tights and a black sports bra, which was covered with a blue singlet top, which showed a little of my stomach below my belly button.

We said goodbye to one another and I, who was exhausted, made it through the house and up the stairs.

The damp feeling of sweat was running down my face, and I could feel it trapped under the back of my top.

I walked up to my bedroom and closed the door behind me.

Jesse was in his usual place, sitting on the window seat and he was listing to music from my discman… and singing softly in Spanish

"..._ apenas béseme bebé y dígame que dos veces, ése usted sea el que esta' para mí. La manera usted me hace la sensación, usted realmente turnin yo bueno_..."

I smiled and made my way over to him.

Even though I had left him with in rather rude manner this morning.

I was hoping he'd kind of be over it.

He looked so cute sitting there sideways with his right leg bent up against the window and his other was stretched out across the seat.

Anyway, we could never stay mad at each other for long, so I thought what the heck?

I jumped over his outstretched leg and landed heavily on my butt, in the space between his outstretched leg and the window, with my legs dangling over the leg I'd jumped over.

This startled him big time, as he gasped in shock and stopped singing.

I laughed and before he could take the headphones out of his ears, I'd already reached over and took one out.

"Watcha listening too?"

I said placing the headphone in my ear. My face was about an inch away from Jesse's, which was still kind of getting over the drastic entry.

He was listening to 'The Way You Make Me Feel' from my Michael Jackson album.

"Ooh, sounds better in Spanish I reckon"

I nodded once and lent back against the window.

"I didn't hear you walk in, Susannah…"

He said, embarrassed with the whole: I caught him singing to Michael Jackson thing.

"Yeah, interesting hey…"

I said, still breathing heavily from the jogging. It was kind of a weird moment, so I stared motionlessly across the room.

Out the corner of my eye, I noticed that he checked out my tight fitting, jogging gear, then looked at where my legs were on top of his.

I didn't know if he wanted me to get off or whatever, but I was so tired to move.

"Um, Susannah, about this morning…" He said quietly, looking down.

"Look, don't worry about it… Just, next time, will you please let me _speak_ before jumping to conclusions?"

Not that I could ever tell him about the whole massaging thing that had happened in the car… And the kiss… That was best he didn't know.

"It hurt when you said you hated me, last night, Susannah…"

"Man, you were chucking a psycho! … Degrading me…" I blurted.

"I am truly sorry for my accusations, jumping to conclusions… I mean, if you had seen what I did, when you guys got out of the car… I was just so worried for your safety…"

He said looking longingly into my eyes.

"If I've upset you in any way, I..."

"It's ok, Jesse, it's over, forget it…" I stopped him. "…And, I am sorry… I don't hate you… I was just, shocked."

We sat there silent looking across the room for a minute or so.

Then he looked back down at my legs, which were still on top of his outstretched one.

"Um, how was your jogging session?"

He asked me, finally looking up at my face.

Ooh, he wants to start a conversation, now? Wow, is that what my jogging outfit can do to people?

"Oh"

I let out a long breath of air then grabbed my water bottle, which I had placed beside me, and started drinking furiously.

Jesse laughed "That bad huh?"

"Nah"

I took a breath and put the lid back on the empty bottle and threw it across the room.

"It's was actually really, nice… tiring, but nice".

Then all of a sudden, that stupid fat cat jumped up onto Jesse's lap.

"Oh, hey there gorgeous"

He said changing his tone and stroking its head while speaking in a babyish tone.

I looked at the cat in disgust. How rude! I thought. How come that ugly thing gets a 'Hey gorgeous' and all I get are shocked startled expressions and degrading accusations.

Jesse looked up at my screwed up expression and must have caught on to my thoughts.

"You've got to make you pets feel loved Querida, and then they'll return their affection when they trust you".

He said, then looked back at Spike who was purring as Jesse stroked him.

I rolled my eyes while he wasn't looking, then thought to myself, hey! He had just called me Querida! Without noticing probably. Omg, he must be over it…

Then I thought about what he said… does that mean that if I love you, will you return your affection? I smiled to myself at the thought of Jesse loving me.

"I've got an idea,"

He said, placing his hand in the air above Spike.

"Put your hand on top of mine".

I looked at his glowing masculine hand and thought, what on earth is he doing? His emotions sure change quickly…

He noticed that I'd hesitated so he gently took one of my hands and placed it on top of his. It was warm, for a ghost that is, and really smooth.

Then he lowered his hand until his was touching spike, then slowly took his away so that mine was on the cat. I kind of left it there for a moment thinking that this whole thing was um, stupid. Then I came to my senses and actually pat it along his back. Its fur was rough, but what could you expect… it was a rough kinda cat.

Then, without me actually realising, and I repeat, I didn't realise! That my hand had moved off the cat and onto Jesse's thigh.

I was still looking at the cat when I snorted. That's right, just as I was 'subconsciously' rubbing my hand on this absolutely gorgeous, Spanish guy's thigh, I go and snort!

It just kinda came out unexpectedly… this…snort.

That 'woke me up' from my daydream, but before I had time to take my hand away, he had looked at where I was rubbing him, then up at me weirdly.

I took my hand away pretty quickly then, and kinda managed an awkward laugh.

I didn't know whether he was giving me that weird look because of my snort or from where I was touching him… then I thought that it might have been the fact that I had snorted _while _rubbing his leg.

"Oh God, I'm a looser!"

I said, awkwardly looking away from his face.

Then full on unexpectedly, he laughed, like really hard while holding his stomach.

OMG this was real embarrassing, trust me!

"You…are…so…funny!"

He tried to say between laughing.

I raised my eyebrows, not knowing what to say, or do.

He calmed down suddenly, wiping his eye.

"Querida, I've never know a girl quite like you before"

He said lifting the cat off his lap.

I looked at my fingernails nervously, not knowing what to do.

"It's a good thing though," He said more seriously now.

"R…i…g…h...t"

I said slowly and sarcastically. Then I lifted myself over his leg to get up.

Was he like loosing it, or has he totally forgotten about last night?

He took my hand just as I had stood and was about to lift my hand from where I had pushed up from. I turned to look at him.

He was just about to say something when my mother called out from the top of the

staircase outside my door.

"Susie, honey, dinner is ready".

I snapped out of it and took my hand from Jesse's.

"I haven't had my shower yet"

I called back to her.

"Have it later dear, you're dinner will get cold".

She replied walking down the stairs.

I looked at Jesse, who had now picked up his book, and grumbled as I turned around and walked towards the door.

I heard him snicker behind my back. Then I had this feeling that he was looking at my butt as I walked… well, I was wearing tights that sat nicely on my hips, allowing just a little of my tanned waistline to be seen.

But then again this was old-fashioned, well-mannered, honourable intentions guy here! But then again…maybe he couldn't resist a peek. And he has the hide to blame Brett for touching me.

Oh dear, guys are weird, I smiled to myself as I left the room.


	6. Jesse or Brett

**Later that night**

I sat on my bed painting my finger and toenails with a light beige colour.

Jesse, as usual, had Spike on his lap and was massaging him. Inside I felt pissed off… come on, I'd love a massage and appreciate it more then the cat!

Even though I had gotten a wonderful… ok, the best, _sensational _massage I have ever experienced… It was from Brett, and I'm not complaining, but I would just die, if Jesse would do that to me.

The radio, which was sitting on my dressing table had just finished playing 'Signed, Seal, Delivered' by Stevie Wonder, when the radio host started speaking.

"Ok, all you young couples out there who are in love, this next one is for you!"

I continued to paint my nails, trying not the let the words in the song of 'Boyz 2 Men' take hold of me.

Then it hit the chorus: "…_I'll hold you all through the night, I'll make love to you, like you want me too…and I'll never let go til you tell me too_…"

OMG, I was totally melting, this song is so perfect for Jesse and I.

It made me feel like running over there into his embrace and falling head over heals in love with him.

But of course I didn't really do that. It took every ounce of me not to though…I must admit.

Somehow I felt that Jesse's gaze was upon me. I didn't really want to look up and check though.

I didn't want him to get the wrong idea… well, I did… but he was so not like modern day guys. So I didn't want him to think I was, you know, hitting onto him or something. I don't want to ruin our friendship.

So I pretended not to notice the lyrics and put the lid back on the nail polish bottle ever so casually.

Then I blew on my nails and shook my hands. Even though the 'quick dry' polish did dry rather quickly anyway.

"What are you doing, Querida?" Jesse asked.

I looked over at him and he was looking at me inquisitively.

"I'm trying to make my nails dry quicker"

I told him emotionless as I could. It was so hard, looking at him and knowing he can't be mine.

I really didn't want him to know what was going through my mind…that the lyrics had me wanting to do something with him that I really knew Father D would despise.

Anyway, Jesse wasn't interested in doing that kind of thing with me… was he?

"Would you like to do something, Querida?" He asked attentively.

I looked at him for a moment; kind of shocked… like he read my mind or something. Was he like, insinuating that he wanted to make love or something?

Far out! Snap out of it Susannah, the guy hasn't even kissed you yet! Well, he has, sort of… once on the cheek… and a few times on my head… Oh and there was this time where he had kissed my hand…

"Susannah?"

Jessie said probably wondering what the hell I was doing, as the whole time I'd been thinking about making love, I was still staring at him.

"Aye?" I replied.

Omg, I really need some help… I've gotta stop saying crappy things to him.

He smiled one of his beautiful Jesse smiles.

"I was wondering, Susannah, if you wanted to do something… like, I don't know, maybe play a game or something?"

I raised my eyebrows. Oh damn, I was wrong… way wrong.

"What? A game?" I was stunned.

Just then, my phone rang, and I think it startled both of us.

I switched the music off and started walking over to pick it up.

"I'm sorry Jesse"

I said avoiding his gaze.

"Hello…" I said into my pink, cordless glittery phone.

"Suze, It's me"

I kind of sounded like Brett, but I wasn't to sure. But then again, it's not like I have a line up of guys calling.

"Brett?"

I saw Jesse turn his head quickly in my direction. And my instincts immediately made my head turn towards him.

"I was wondering, you know about, um… well if you still wanted to come down to the salon, you know?"

Jesse looked kind of angry but yet interested in what Brett wanted.

"The salon, Yeah!"

I said a little way too excited, as Jesse's face dropped and he turned back to the window.

"Fantastic, are you free tomorrow, say about 3:30, after school"

"Um, yeah, that's fine. Hey, Brett, would I be able to bring my friend Cee Cee as well?"

He hesitated a little but then answered. "Yeah, sure, if she doesn't mind getting Tasha, who's 42… I'm the only male…"

"I'm sure she won't mind" I said trying not to laugh.

"Ok, great, I'll see you at 3:30"

"All right, thanks Brett"

"Goodnight, Suze, love yah"

"Yeah, goodnight Brett"

We hung up.

"We're just friends, Jesse, I want to check out his work…"

I said trying to ensure Jesse that I had no intentions of loving him. I didn't want to hurt Jesse, he was an amazing guy… but he was dead… We could never be together…

I walked past my nightstand, turned my beside lamp on and then turned the main one off.

As I got into my bed, Jesse turned to me.

"Salon, does he work in a hair salon?" He asked trying not to laugh.

I felt like saying umm, no Jesse, not a _hair _salon. Then I thought, no, he so wouldn't let me go if he knew Brett was going to be _massaging_ me.

That would _really_ make him mad.

"Yeah, something like that"

I answered, letting him think I was going to get my hair washed and trimmed.

"Well, just don't let him cut your beautiful hair"

I was kind of surprised at that comment.

"No, I won't, it's just gonna be a wash, blow dry and style".

Man I really didn't like lying to Jesse.

"How come you never want to spend time with me?" He asked with a sad look on his face.

"Jesse, it's not like I don't want to hang out with you… but where can we go?" I said, trying not to hurt his feelings.

He looked away.

"Just be careful with him, Susannah, I don't trust him…"

But I was so tired to answer… and I was gonna get a massage tomorrow, mmm. I closed my eyes and I fell straight to sleep thinking of happy thoughts.


	7. Sick Intentions

**Massage - Wednesday Afternoon**

Cee Cee and I were really excited about the whole massage treatment for this afternoon. We had decided to pack our jogging clothes and change at school, before heading over to the salon.

It was around 3:20pm when we had walked through the door and a woman, who looked in her mid 30's, smiled at us from behind the counter.

"You must be Suze and Cee Cee, right?"

We nodded.

Then Brett stepped outfrom the back room.

"Suze, hello! And Cee Cee, nice to meet you"

He smiled shaking her hand. Then he gave me a hug.

"Right this way, ladies"

He smiled, leading us towards the back room.

Two beds were set up and an older lady was in there, getting towels prepared.

I gathered thatshe was Cee Cee's massager.

Cee Ceedidn't seem to mind about not having a hot guy though, I thinkshe was just excited to be pampered.

Brett left the room to get the massaging oils from the storeroom and the lady instructed us to go behind this curtain, take our shirts off and wrap this small towel around our chest.

Cee Cee went first, while I tied my hair up into a bun.

Brett had stepped back into the room putting the bottles of oils onto a table between both beds. He ran one hand across my back as he passed me.

"You don't have to wait for her, take your gear off here if you like" He smiled cheekily.

"Yeah, nice try!"

I kind of laughed; whacking the towel on his chest as Cee Cee had stepped out from behind the curtain.

When I came out, Cee Cee's treatment had already just begun as the lady rubbed oil gently onto her back. Brett was standing in between the beds, facing mine as he poured the oil into a small bowl.

As I got onto the bed, lying down on my stomach, I unwrapped the small towel, which was covering my chest and moved it away from my back.

I felt that Brett was watching me as I was doing this. It was all a little weird, you know, lying here face down with my top off, wearing my tights and having this hot guy look down at you.

I think that I should've worn slacks I thought as I looked over at Cee Cee's.

Ok, what was Brett waiting for? Was he gonna stand around all afternoon staring at me, or is he gonna actually start massaging me sometime soon.

Then I felt Brett's fingers gently touch the waistline of my tights.

Oh shit, I panicked, I had decided to wear a G-string today, because of the tights… and it must have risen up above my waistline as I had gotten onto the bed…

That's what you get when you are too busy concentrating on holding up the towel around the chest I guess. I closed my eyes and cringed as he tucked it back under, bent down and whispered

"Nice…red's my favourite colour" in my ear.

Apart from that embarrassing moment, the rest of the session went really, really well. Every inch of my back, shoulders and neck were covered with beautiful smelling oils, which was rubbed in by the hands of the 'massage king' himself.

I had lost a sense of where I was a few times, as his hands would sometimes wander down the sides of my waist, creeping underneath my body, stopping just beneath the curves of my breasts.

It was absolutely fantastic. Apart form the fact that I had to contain my sounds of pleasure, as I had my best friend and an old lady on the other side of Brett and I.

After Cee Cee and I had gotten dressed, Brett said that was the end of his shift and he offered to drive us both home. Cee Cee had gotten in the back, while I jumped in the passenger's side.

"Do you always help out when you have free periods?"

Cee Cee asked.

He hesitated a little then said.

"Oh, well only really on Mondays and Thursdays… that's when I get double frees in the afternoons"

Cee Cee gave directions on where to drop her off, and then he headed for my place.

Only, at least he had started to, then he turned down another road.

"Um, Brett… We were meant to continue down that road…" I said a little concerned, looking back at the road that we should have stayed on.

"I want to show you my place" He said quickly looking over at me and smiled.

He pulled up outside a nice looking two-storey house, which had a white picket fence and a pebbly driveway, with a path that led to the front door.

As he had gotten out of the car to come around and helpcarry my bag, I hesitated on getting out, and sat there.

"Come inside, and have a drink, Suze" He said, waiting for me to get out.

"Are you sure, I don't want to disturb your mother or anything".

"Disturb my mother? She just sits upstairs watching those TV Soaps all day… She never knows when I'm home!"

He then gave me a huge grin.

Ok, so maybe I should have told him, no, and that I really had to go home… But, I couldn't resist… He was so gorgeous, and he only offered me a drink, right…. Wrong!

He led me through the lounge room, which was very clean and had a new smell to it. I followed him into the kitchen, where he walked over to open the curtains.

"We've got Pepsi, in the fridge there, Suze. Help yourself"

He stood around the other side of the kitchen bench as I opened up the fridge and pulled two cans of Pepsi out. I turned around to face him and he was smiling at me, looking me up and down… which made me a little uncomfortable.

"Here you go" I passed him one of the cans, hoping it would take his eyes off me.

"Suze, I've been wanting to tell you that your whole jogging outfit looks great on you"

He said cracking open his can and taking a drink.

"Yeah? Cee Cee and I have kinda taken it up…you know, to get fit"

He put his can of Pepsi down on the bench and walked around to my side.

"But your body is perfect, just the way it is…"

I drank some of my Pepsi, you know, trying to stay calm and collected. He came up, took it from my hand, put it on the bench next to his, and moved his hands to my hips.

My hands moved up to his chest, trying to keep a little space between us, but he had slowly cornered me against the edge of the bench.

Then all of a sudden he applied pressure to my waist and lifted me up, sitting me onto the kitchen bench, which now made me a little taller than he was.

He ran his hands up and down my thighs, with his body pressed up against the bench. I couldn't help myself, whenever I was with Brett; I lost all of my senses... all of reality.

As I looked into his bright blue eyes, I wrapped my arms around, over his shoulders. Then he slowly moved in as if he were going to kiss me, and stopped his face, right in front of mine.

He ran his hands around the waistline of my tights, until they reached behind me.

"Just checking to see if your red, underwear had risen up again, because…"

And then his lips were right in front of mine.

"… Something of mine has had similar ideas"

This snapped me back to reality as my mind replayed back what he'd just said.

"Brett, I _really _have to go!" I started to push him.

But he had a firm grasp on my body and he gently kissed my lips, pulling my upper body really tight into his.

He moved his hands up and pulled the hair tie out of my hair, and let it fall down over my shoulders. With his hands, he pushed my hair out of the way, rubbing across my chest as he gathered it in his hands.

Then his lips moved down my neck, kissing me, sending shivers down my spine.

With all of my strength, I pushed him and jumped off the bench, landing right in front of his body… with him now taller than me again.

"What's the matter?" Brett asked a little annoyed.

"I, um, think you should leave me alone... This isn't right"

He must have thought I was joking or something, because he gave a little laugh and leaned in to kiss me again.

"Brett!"

I ducked under his arm and out into the lounge room grabbing my backpack. Brett, who had ran to catch up had stood in front of me, looking desperate for me to stay.

"Whoa, Suze, calm down will ya" He said, rubbing my shoulders.

"Brett, please, I just want to go home…"

"I'm glad you had a great experience with me this afternoon, Suze"

He said giving my waist yet another rub.

"It just keeps getting better, doesn't it?" He smiled one of his cheeky grins.

Just then we heard a car drive up the pebbly driveway and turn off the ignition.

"Oh Shit!"

Brett yelled, turned around and ran over to the curtain to see who it was.

He looked back at me with a panicked look on his face.

"What's going on, who's…"

I tried to ask, feeling a little nervous. But he interrupted me quickly.

"Wait here Suze! I'll be back in a minute… Just stay there, look around or something"

He opened the front door and shut it quickly behind him.

I curiously walked over to the curtains, where Brett had been freaking out, and pulled them slowly back.

A beautiful blonde girl, who looked about 20, had run up the front path and jump into Brett's arms.

"Brett, I missed you so much! She kissed him.

"Look, Tania, this is really _not _a good time to come round!" He said softly, but firmly.

"Why? Are you entertaining someone…" She said in a babyish voice. "Without me?"

OMG. That _sick_ bastard! I felt like my head was going to explode from anger. I stormed out of the front door, slammed it shut, and continued my storming walk over to where they were standing.

They had both turned around. Tania was looking me up and down. "She's a little young, Brett. I thought you were into experience?"

Before he even had a chance to open his mouth.

WHAM!

I slapped him as hard as I could across his face and punched him in the stomach.

Tania screamed like a child and ran in her high heels behind her car, ducking for safety.

"Who the _Hell _do you think you are!"

I screamed at Brett, as he doubled over, holding one hand on the cheek I had just slapped and one on his stomach.

"You're sick Brett, _Sick_!

"Suze, you don't… understand, I"

"Save it you moron, I don't give a shit!" I said turning to leave.

"Wait, at least let me give you a ride home!" He yelled after me.

What the hell was he saying? Was he insane? I stopped on the lawn, tears streaming from my face, and turned to face him.

"Yeah, you'd like that you bloody bastard, wouldn't you!" I screamed.

"Suze, C'mon, I won't hurt you… I want to love you!" He said, helplessly walking towards me.

"F##k you Brett! I never want to see you again… Ever!"

With that I turned and ran down the street, only looking over my shoulder once to make sure that he wasn't following me.


	8. My Protector

**My Protector**

I slowly trudged up the driveway with my bag hanging half off my shoulder. I didn't know if I was more exhausted from running, or crying.

Luckily my Parents had gone down to the school to see Doc's science project thing, Dopey had gone down to the beach with some friends for surf… And Sleepy was, well… Sleeping.

I made it to the main bathroom downstairs, washed my face and straightened up my hair. I couldn't let Jesse see me in this state!

As I was walking up the stairs, I was contemplating on whether or not I should tell Jesse the real truth about what had happened… or lie, once again… I opened my bedroom door and headed lifelessly for my bed.

"I thought you were going to…"

Jesse looked at the jogging clothes I was wearing. My body was now sprawled out, face down on the bed.

"I didn't go" I muttered.

Wow, if you're going to try and fool him, you're doing a great job Suze, I thought. But I didn't have the energy to care.

"Susannah, what is going on?"

Jesse's voice sounded full of concern, as I could hear him walking towards me. I rolled over… a little to far, and fell off the bed.

All of I sudden, I couldn't contain it and I started laughing hysterically.

"Susannah?"

He knelt down on the floor next to me, not sure how to react with my laughter. As he held my head, and lifted me up so that I was sitting against my bed, I looked into his eyes, and stopped laughing.

Instead, I started to cry.

Jesse was now really worried and confused with my dramatic emotion change… Probably thought I was loosing it… Which I guess, I was!

"Querida, what is wrong? Has something happened to you?"

Jesse asked, moving in closer and placing a hand on my arm.

"I am so, stupid!"

I managed to blurt out, lowering my head down.

Then it had occurred to him, that Brett must have had something to do with this.

"It was that guy wasn't it? What has he done? … Dios! Susannah, you're shaking!"

He grabbed one of my jackets, which was on the chair behind him, and wrapped it, and his arms around me. He gently cradled me in his arms, continuously telling me that I was safe now, and that he'd look after me.

After a few minutes, I had finally composed myself and Jesse had helped me sit up onto the bed.

He sat beside me, holding my hands, waiting patiently for me to tell him what had happened. I sighed and took a deep breath, staring towards the window, away from Jesse's gaze.

"He wanted… He tried to…"

Jesse held my hands tighter, rubbing them with his thumbs.

"Why did I have to go and see him again!" I wailed. Man, I felt like an idiot!

Jesse sat there, looking at me… "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

He asked, suddenly moving his face into my view.

Then I proceeded to tell him the _whole _story, even about the date…Hardly stopping for a breath of air.

He had to know the truth. Because I knew, that if there was one person who would stick by me through anything… even if he may not approve of what I do sometimes… I knew that Jesse would always be there for me.

So he had to hear the truth…

As my mouth was going a million miles per hour, I noticed a few times he'd pull a disgusted face, or a 'I can't believe this guy' kind of look.

Once I had finished, I sat back; not knowing what Jesse would do, or say…

"Jesse, I'm so sorry"

I whispered, sniffing and wiping my eyes with the corner of my bed sheet.

Jesse didn't say anything, so I looked up into his eyes. He looked like he had water welling up inside them. Was he about to cry for me? Then he threw his arms around me tightly.

"Oh my dear Querida, you don't need to be sorry for anything"

We sat there for a moment in one another's arms… I knew he was shedding a few tears, I felt them roll down my back. Not that his shirt was dry though, no, his shoulder was drenched.

Then before he leant back, he wiped his eyes so that he'd think that I wouldn't notice he'd been crying…

I sniffed and gave a little laugh at the fact that he'd cried for me. He laughed at my laugh, looked up and wiped my teary cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt.

"It's getting late. Well, I'll let you get some rest hey?" He said, slowly standing up from my bed.

"Jesse wait!"

I grabbed onto one of his arms. He stopped and looked down at me.

"What's wrong, can I get you something?"

I smiled at him "Thank you so much, for understanding…" I finally managed to say.

He chuckled. "You, Susannah Simon, are nothing but trouble"

I lowered my head. "And boy do I attract it"

Then he knelt down at my bedside and held my hands together in his.

"Susannah, You know I will do anything for you…"

Then he gently layed me down and tucked me in, pulling the covers up to my shoulders.

"No dejaré ningún daño malvado usted mi Querida, permaneceré por usted el lado y le protegeré"

He whispered ever so quietly. I gave him a clueless look that said 'translate please'

He ran his hand gently down my cheek.

"I will let no evil harm you my Querida, I will stay by your side and protect you, forever".

I smiled and closed my eyes knowing that I had someone special watching over me while I slept. That was a comforting feeling.

I awoke the next morning to the heavy sound of rain and rolled other to check the time… I was running late for school.

"Oh damn, it's 8:05am"

I grumbled and pulled the covers back over my head.

Then surprisingly, Jesse had done something he'd never done before… I felt him climb on top of me and sit with each leg either side of my stomach.

All of a sudden he pulled the covers down from my face.

"Awe Jesse, you're squishing me under here" I tried to laugh.

"Someone's going to be late if they continue to stay in bed all morning" Jesse said smiling.

"But it's dismal and raining outside, I want to stay in bed"

I whinged in a baby voice turning my head to avoid Jesse's gaze.

I felt him lean down, he put his weight onto his arms which he place either side above my shoulders. I kept my eyes shut, is he going to kiss my neck? I thought to myself.

Then he gently pulled the hair away from my ear, bent down, placed his lips almost right on my check and whispered to me.

"Well, if you don't get to school, maybe I won't give you your surprise later on..."

I didn't move for a second. I was frozen. Not from the fact that he had a surprise for me, but the fact that if I moved, his lips would touch my check.

I think he must have realised he was a little close, so he backed off a little.

I immediately turned my head to face him so I could look him in the eyes and ask what this surprise was… but my gaze was staring right at his lips.

And I'll tell you; they were beautiful lips, Oh My God!

But then my eyes wandered down his shirt… Because he was leaning over, I got front row seats to 'Jesse's torso show'.

"Susannah"

He said, trying to get my attention back to his face.

But I was long gone off with the fairies. My eyes were getting their surprise early! I felt them grow heavy, as if they were being mesmerised.

"All…right!"

I said unknowingly that I'd just said that out loud, but in a cool tone.

"Susannah?"

Jesse sat up as if he weren't happy that I was looking down his shirt.

"Aye?"

I said as I was snapped out of my fantasy. He raised his eyebrows as he looked down at me, shifting his weight to the space of mattress on my right side near my stomach.

"Did I um… just say that last bit out loud?"

I asked kind of embarrassed.

"Well it's nice that you want to study my body, but how about you get out of bed and go study something more useful young lady… like going to school."

I groaned, rolled out the other side lifelessly onto the floor, taking my bed covers with me; and I layed there tangled.

I heard Jesse sigh as he layed on his stomach across my bed to look down at the tangled pile on the floor.

"What am I going to do with you?" He smiled.

Finally, after he had dragged me out of the tangled covers, I got changed into my pair of dark denim fitted hipster jeans and a white V neck fitted tank top.

I came out of the bathroom. Jesse was fixing up the covers on my bed and tucking them in ever so nicely.

"Oh wow, I'm gonna have to hire you as my maid"

I said patting him on the back as I went to my dressing table to pick up my hairbrush. He looked a little peeved about my comment.

"I just want to save your mother from doing it"

He replied as he fluffed up my pillow.

"But my mother always tidies up my room, she always has… it's what mothers are for"

I said looking into the mirror as I brushed my long, straight, brown/chestnut-coloured hair.

"No Susannah, that's _not _what mothers are for. It should be _your _responsibility".

I saw him turn to face me in the reflection of the mirror.

"Not that I mind tidying up every now and then…"

He added, walking over to the window seat to pull the curtain open. I put my brush down and turned to the window.

"Huh, you've been cleaning my room?" I asked surprised.

"Yes, Susannah. I've overheard your mother saying how impressed she is with the state of this room and how she never has to clean it"

"Really? Oh, thanks… I never knew" I chuckled softly.

I put on a navy-hooded jacket over my top and zipped it up just until where my chest started so the V-neck could be clearly seen.

"It is raining quite heavily. You had better hurry up so that your brother doesn't leave without you"

Jesse said as he watched the rain fall into the puddles on the ground.

"Adam and Cee Cee are picking me up today," I said zipping up my ankle boots.  
"Anyway, Jesse, what's with this surprise you mentioned before?"

He smiled suspiciously at me from across the room.

"Oh well, that's only for girls who go to school, stay at school and don't misbehave".

I walked over to where he sat on the window seat and stood in front of him with my hands on my hips.

"Really Now?" I said cheekily.

"Go to school, Susannah!" He ordered.

I screamed childishly and ran out the door.


	9. The Surprise

**The Surprise – Thursday Afternoon**

All day I couldn't concentrate, every lesson seemed like eternity and the day, everlasting. I spent every hour in a daze, as I kept trying to think of what this whole surprise might be…

At first I thought it might be you know a gift, like jewellery or something… But it's not like Jesse could actually go to the shops…

Maybe he was going to declare his love? But I laughed at that thought… yeah right! But still, a girl can dream can't she?

School had finally ended and this meant that I was this much closer to finding out my surprise.

I had practically skipped up the driveway. It was so childish… me being so excited about all of this… but it was coming from Jesse! Whatever it was, I didn't care… It was the thought that counts.

I cheerfully bounced into my room, half expecting something to be there for me… But Jesse was reading his book, sitting on the window seat as usual.

"Hey Jesse"

I said in a high pitched voice, dumping my bag on the floor.

He put his book down and smiled up at me.

"Hello Susannah. So what has put you in such a happy mood this afternoon?" He asked teasingly.

I skipped over to where he was, and he shuffled over to make room for me on the seat.

"Oh, I dunno…" I said childishly.

"Maybe it is because you are so happy to see me" He suggested.

I faked a few coughs. "How did you guess?" I said sarcastically, laughing.

He leant over and started tickling me.

"Ah, Jesse, no!" I laughed,

"It's too early for the surprise"

He said, as I laughed harder, squirming to try and get his arms away.

Finally he had given up tickling me, realising I was defenceless, and in need of air!

I sat up and playfully punched him on the arm.

"What do you mean, it's too early? You know that I'm an impatient girl!"

"Patience is a virtue, Querida" He laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, 'Mr virtue man', what am I supposed to do to pass the time?"

"Your homework" He grinned, trying not to laugh.

"Real funny, Jesse, well done" I said sarcastically getting up.

As I sat on my bed, flipping through pages of a magazine, I was growing more and more impatient by the minute. I had passed the last hour by eating, bugging Jesse with a countless amounts of 'is it time yet?' eating and bugging Jesse some more…

And when I mean bugging Jesse, I mean…

"Jesse, is it time yet?"

"No, not yet Susannah"

"How about now?"

"But you just asked me…"

"So?"

"So, why would I give you a different answer?"

"Well, what about now?"

"No!"

Ok, I think that you get the point… I was annoying the shit out of him.

It was now 4.45pm. I looked over at Jesse who was intent with reading that stupid, huge book.

"What's the time?"

I asked, hoping to get him away from that book and give me my surprise… He looked over at my clock, which would have been easier if I'd just looked myself.

"4.45" He replied.

I noticed that he smirked as he looked back down at the pages in his book. Man. I hate this!

"Far out Jesse!" I blurted. "I might as well have stayed at school or something…" I frowned.

"Somebody once told me not to frown too much… you'll get wrinkles!" He teased.

He thinks he is so smart doesn't he… Just because he has me waiting in suspense… Well I'll wipe that smile off his face… I grabbed my pillow and hurled it in his direction, unfortunately missing him completely. I'm such a dork!

He looked at the pillow, which was lying about two metres to the right of him, and then he looked over at me.

"Susannah, that is rather childish don't you think? Throwing a pillow at someone…"

I shrugged, as I got up to put the magazine back in my drawer. Just as I had closed my drawer back up… WHAM! The pillow had been thrown rather forcefully at me.

I looked over at Jesse, who was now standing up looking rather pleased with his actions.

"Childish hey? Who's being childish now!"

I picked it up and charged at him, slogging it at his chest.

"Susannah!" He laughed, protesting and holding his arms up in defence.

"Stop! Ok. You can have the surprise!"

Ooh. This made me stop.

"Yeah? Or are you bluffing?"

I said holding up the pillow, getting ready for another swing.

"No, I'm serious Susannah"

Jesse said, looking out the window, with his arms out, ready to block my attack.

"You may now have your surprise"

He lifted the window up.

"What are you doing?"

I asked, dropping the pillow and looking out to see what he was looking at.

"You ask so many questions young lady. Just wait and see…"

He then lifted a leg over the windowsill and stepped out onto the small balcony.

You couldn't really call it a balcony though; it was more like a ledge with a railing… seeing as though there was really only enough room for one person at a time. I've never been out there though, never seen the point. You could see everything just fine from inside the room.

He turned back to look at my puzzled face, and smiled. Then he shocked me when he lifted his body up, onto the roof. I gasped. Whoa, look at his arm muscles tighten!

After I'd finished watching in awe, I looked at him rather dumbstruck. Did he want me to follow him up there? Why do guys keepexpecting me to climb things?

I lifted myself out onto the small 'balcony', looked down over the railing and then up at Jesse. He looked down at me from the roof's ledge.

"Um, isn't this just a little dangerous?" I asked.

"It's ok, Susannah, it's rather safe up here… And I wont let anything happen to you"

He smiled down at me, with his hair flopping down over his forehead.

Oh he looked so gorgeous.

Then I realised that maybe today wasn't the best day to have worn a V neck top.

I looked at the row of bricks on the wall in front of me and noticed one was sticking out, just enough for my foot to stand on.

Jesse crouched down and outstretched his arms for me.

I stepped up onto the brick with one foot and put my hands on the roof. It wasn't that high and I probably could have pushed my weight up, but Jesse put his hands under my armpits and carefully lifted me up.

He was much gentler to me, compared to when Brett had pulled me up that rock.

"Are you alright?" He asked, helping me to my feet.

I nodded and smiled as he took my hand and led me up to the top of the slightly elevated rooftop. We reached the top and there was a red and white checked picnic rug, waiting for us.

"Awe this is so, cute"

I said as we sat down. I wanted to say romantic, but I don't know… I don't think it's what Jesse had in mind.

This was so sweet, but why was he bringing me up onto the roof? I thought, looking down at the red and white checks. He had full on set up this rug and all. This was a little weird… cute, but weird.

He gave a quiet laugh "Querida, I didn't bring you up here so that you can admire the rug"

I looked up at him; and he turned his gaze, looking forward.

"So why did you…"

I looked out where he was looking and I was shocked.

The sun was sinking down onto the horizon. It was such a beautiful sight… The sunset was giving off a variety of shades of yellows, oranges, pinks, purples and blues… it was truely amazing.

I looked out in awe, onto the horizon where the lights hit the ocean. And then my eyes scanned across at the tops of the town's buildings, and behind them, stood the mountains with their silhouetted shadows.

"I never knew something so, natural and simple could be so wondrous"

"You have never watched a sunset before?" Jesse asked, rather surprised.

"Hah, not in New York!"

"And to think, this happens every evening…"

Jesse said, with his arm dangling off his bent up leg.

"You know, before you moved in here, I used to sit up here for hours each night, just thinking about things" He said turning to look at me.

"Really?" I looked out at the town, and then back to him.

"And what kind of things were you thinking about?"

Ok, I think that was a little personal. He was silent for a moment as he turned to look out at the ocean.

"Oh, well you know…I didn't have anyone to talk to…" He said slowly.

He must have felt that I was still looking at him for a more elaborate answer, because he turned to me and smiled.

"I guess I was wondering what would happen next, you know, who would enter my life… well, not my _life, _but…"

"I know what you mean" I giggled.

He gently ran his fingers through his hair, looking a little uneasy as he pushed back the strands, which the gentle breeze had blown forward.

"I haven't been up here for a while now… I'd almost forgotten" He said.

"How come you have never mentioned this before?" I said looking once more out at the sky which had slowly grown darker.

"I guess, since…" He paused. "…Um, things have changed"

Was he meaning to say that since I had come along, I was more important than this? Nah, he probably means something else…didn't he?

"Well, I would've loved to have seen more of these" I said, looking over at him.

He looked into my eyes. "But you can Susannah, this (he said outstretching his arm) happens every night"

"With you?" I immediately asked, not thinking twice about it.

Oops, I don't know if I should have been so direct. I forgot for a moment that he's not a 'new aged' guy and that he probably wouldn't be so impressed with some of these things I say...

He laughed and casually ran a finger over the scar above his eyebrow, looking a little embarrassed actually. There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence.

"I don't think you would be able to climb up here without me" He smirked, breaking the silence.

"Hey, I can so! You little…"

I looked at him, thinking what physical abuse would suit that remark. The best I could think of was knocking his dangling arm off his leg. I'm hopeless sometimes; I'll admit it.

He smiled at me weirdly, shaking his head. "Is that the best you can do?"

I moaned. "Yeah, well…" I said a little embarrassed.

"We're on a rooftop, I'm not about to get too physical".

Oh boy, 'too physical'. Gee, I'm sounding like I desperately want to hit on him… Which in the back of my mind, doesn't sound too bad… I am really ruining all of this.

Then, he suddenly leant forward and pulled one of my 'slide in' shoes off my foot.

"Hey…"

But before I had time to react, he had ever so casually chucked it over his shoulder and it rolled down the other side of the roof.

"I would have done something like that" He chuckled.

I was in utter shock. "But… my shoe!"

I got up on my knees and turned to see where it had landed.

"Jesse, it's stuck in the gutter!"

He started laughing out real loud.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you… you're getting it!" I lightly punched him on the leg.

He slowly stood up, still letting out an occasional laugh.

"Be careful," I said, watching him slowly make his way down to the gutter.

When he finally made his way back up to where I was, I grabbed my shoe from his hand and whacked him with it, against his leg. Not hard or anything, just playfully.

"You should have seen your face, when it was rolling down there"

He laughed again, leaning back with his arm supporting his weight.

"Hmm"

I muttered, putting the shoe back on my foot and leaning back onto my elbows like Jesse was. What is this? He's acting ratherweird tonight… Oh well, at least we're equal with our weird actions now… or maybe I'm still leading.

The sky had now grown rather dark, revealing the bright, almost rounded moon. Even though there were a few clouds about, the sky was lit up with millions of shinning stars.

"Do you see that group of stars right there"

He pointed up into the sky towards a group of stars. "Sometimes I used to see the formation of a dove. Can you see it?"

I tilted my head a little.

"Um, I reckon it looks like a palm tree"

"A palm tree?" He choked on his laughter.

"Yeah, without much of a trunk…" I tried to make it sound believable.

"I'm sorry…" He laughed. "… A palm tree with wings?"

"They're not wings, those things are palm leaves…" I whinged, waving my arm at the sky.

We sat there looking silently up at the night sky, with the soft breeze running through our hair. I leant over against his chest. Not knowing if this was 'acceptable' to him or not. But he didn't seem to mind.

As we layed there, I realised that I had never felt so safe and comfortable with anyone as much as I did right now with Jesse.

"Thank you for bringing me up here, Jesse… This is such a beautiful surprise. The sunset, the moon, the stars, even the rug" I giggled.

Then I felt his head look down at me.

"Yes, but not nearly as beautiful as you are"

Whoa, this shocked me. I got up from his chest, avoiding his gaze. Jesse had just called me beautiful. What brought that on…? He never expresses his feelings… especially about me!

He soon regretted what he had said.

"I apologise Susannah, I… spoke before I could consider…" He stuttered embarrassedly.

"That was a lovely compliment…Really, thanks" I interrupted awkwardly.

"I wasn't sure if I'd stepped over the line…" Jesse said shyly.

I turned to smile at him. "No, Jesse, you didn't step over the line"

I kind of felt like laughing. That was so sweet… He feels that calling me beautiful is pushing it.

Then I shivered, but I wasn't cold.

"Are you cold Susannah? How rude of me, would you like me to get your jacket?"

"Oh, no I'm fine Jesse"

I said, moving my hand onto his arm as he moved to get up. He sat back down, looking tense.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, It's just… Never mind…"

"Come on, you can't just start something, and then 'never mind' _me_!"

He looked uncomfortable as he shifted his weight.

Oops, I shouldn't have been so forceful.

"I'm sorry…"

"No, it's ok. You have the right to know…" He said looking into my eyes.

Right to know… What? I thought.

Was this going to be good or bad news?


	10. Trust and Faith

Jesse sat back uneasily; as if what he was about to say was personal to him.

He began to speak slowly "It was this very night, back in 1850…"

Then he paused for a moment as he wiped his forehead as if beads of sweat were developing… obviously, for a ghost, there wasn't any. I looked contently at his nervousness and was eager to know where this was leading.

Back in 1850? What, was he going to confess that he was deeply in love with someone back in his time? No, not up here, not like this, surely. Why do I always try to jump to conclusions? … Just stop thinking Suze and listen to him!

I placed my hand over his, as he slowly finished the sentence.

"When I… err, in your words… Choked"

I immediately raised my hand, which was on his, to my mouth in complete shock.

Ok, well I was totally wrong about what I thought he was going to tell me… I didn't see that one coming. I really didn't know what to say. I was speechless.

He never speaks a word about what had happened to him. Every time I had tried to sneakily bend my questions towards the topic in the past, he always caught on He would grow tense, real edgy and change the conversation hastily.

"I don't want you to be concerned…"

He said, taking my hand and holding it tightly in his own. Then he suddenly and quickly turned his head away as if in shame.

"It happened over 150 years ago, I shouldn't have brought it up... I am so sorry for ruining this moment"

"All that matters Jesse,"

I said, turning his attention back to me.

"Is that you're actually here now, with me…" I smiled up at his depressed face.

He slowly returned the smile and wrapped his arm around my back, gently pulling me closer to him. I have got to be the luckiest girl right about now. I thought smiling up into the night sky.

"I truly appreciate and admire the fact that you accept this issue, Susannah"

"Awe Jesse, you're so gorgeous, how could I not!" I smiled happily, leaning my head on his shoulder.

I heard him give a quiet chuckle.

"Susannah," He said changing his tone into a serious one.

"I want to tell you that no matter what happens…"

Then he lowered his head closer to mine.

"I will always be here to look after you"

He whispered in my ear, and softly kissed the top of my head.

All I want to do right now is kiss his beautiful, smooth lips. His words were so sweet; he made my heart melt. I sighed and buried my head against his chest.

"It's such a shame we can't be together…" I sighed.

Oh Crap! I just said that out loud! What an idiot, Suze! Totally go and ruin everything, nice one!

I cringed, and I think Jesse had noticed because the next thing I knew, he had gently placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head up towards his.

"I know…"

Then he slowly moved in towards my lips as if he was going to kiss me.

"… But I'll continue to love you anyway"

He whispered against my skin. And with that, he leant over and delicately pressed his lips against mine.

_Oh My God_! He was kissing me, Jesse was kissing me! It was such a beautiful moment… his lips were so smooth and warm… and he embraced me gently, holding me in his arms.

This is _way_ better than kissing Brett! This is pure bliss!

Hold on! Had he just used the word love? … He_ loves _me? My stomach totally flipped upside down and bursted into a million butterflies.

I smiled against his lips, and ran one of my hands through his thick, dark hair.

I felt him smile back, just before he slowly ended the kiss.

Mother Nature had decided to ruin our moment by starting to sprinkle with rain.

Trust my luck! Who cares about a little rain… I didn't want our kiss to end… It was too short! 

Short, but sweet.

I can't believe it… He kissed me! He kissed _me! _And he said he would love me even though we couldn't really be together… I sighed peacefully.

While still holding me in his embrace, he continued smiling, and with his thumb, wiped the small raindrops, which had fallen on my cheek.

"I hope you don't mind. It felt like the right moment… to kiss you"

"Yeah, it _was_ the right moment," I giggled, hugging him tightly, never wanting to let him go.

"Oh, Querida, le amaré más que usted sabrá siempre"

I didn't know what that meant, but all that mattered was that he had feelings for me after all. Who would have guessed?

By this time, the rain had started to fall heavier.

He laughed, as he tilted me back in his arms to look at my face… which I really didn't want him to do… My hair must be a mess!

"Come on, let's go inside"

He said, raising his voice above the rain.

I think I was permanently stuck there, unable to move… Still trying to absorb what had just happened.

He carefully stood up, taking me with him. With one arm around my waist, and both of mine around his, we slowly made our way down.

Jesse jumped down onto the small ledge first and outstretched his arms for me. I sat down on the edge to the roof and moved forward into his grasp.

He held me around my waist and pulled me close, into his body. There wasn't really much room to fit to fit two people, so he had to hold me close. Yes! Thank God for my small balcony.

The front of his wet hair had kind of plastered down against his forehead. And I'd noticed that his white shirt had definitely clung to his body.

I was leaning up against the closed window, but my back was facing it, and I couldn't turn around as Jesse was pined between the railing and myself.

I didn't mind. I could stand out here forever. You would too if you were pinned up against a totally hot Spanish guy, whose muscles you could feel up against your body.

Then he goes and ruins my happiness by lifting his arms around my body and pulling the window up.

I sat on the window ledge, not really wanting to go back inside. But Jesse gave me a 'what are you waiting for', look on his face. Damn! Anyway, I pulled myself into the room, while Jesse followed and closed it up behind him.

As I stood there, waiting for Jesse to turn around so that I could see his torso through his shirt, it had suddenly hit me.

I was wearing a white top too! And to make matters worse… my dark purple bra.

I panicked, and looked down to see that sure enough my bra was showing through.

Ooh, like hell it was! Clear as day!

I mean, when it's dry, the white lycra was too thick to see through, even dark purple… But I wasn't aware that it was going to get wet!

My arms quickly shot up covering my chest, hoping that Jesse hadn't noticed. But I should have known that nothing gets by unnoticed by Jesse.

I looked up to find him gazing at my body, like he was examining it or something. He then realised that I had discovered him looking, and he blushed a little.

But he didn't seem to hide the fact that his shirt was clearly see through and revealed his abdominal muscles and chest… Which by the way, are absolutely, bloody impressive!

No, he just stood there blushing, as a huge grin suddenly appeared on his face when he noticed that the sight of his body had hopelessly captivated me.

Then we both laughed at the same time, catching on to each other's thoughts.

"Ok, well I'm gonna go change"

I said awkwardly, picking up my pj's while still laughing as I turned and walked across the room.

I went into the bathroom, closed the door, lent against it and let out a gasp or air. That was a very awkward moment!

Women back in Jesse's era used to wear corsets or some sort of long under garment. He wouldn't have even seen a bra before. Not unless he peeks through my underwear drawer… No, Jesse is not like that!

All right, so that must have been eye-opening experience for him out there…

Anyway I got dressed into my light blue soft material shorts, a light blue buttoned silk t-shirt and began to blow-dry my wet hair.

I stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later and dumped my wet clothes in a pile near the door, ready to go into the wash tomorrow, and headed over to my dressing table.

Jesse, who was comfortably sitting on the window seat supposedly reading his book, pretended not to notice me. He was doing a great job at reading, seeing as though I noticed that his book was upside down.

I laughed secretly to myself. Guys…

"Um, Jesse?" I turned to face him.

He looked up from his upside down book towards me and I noticed that he managed to control the urge to look me up and down… Considering the circumstances earlier on.

A true gentleman. He looked straight into my eyes.

"Yes Querida?"

I smiled on the inside and that beautiful word.

"Um, You do realise that you're getting my window seat wet!"

"Oh, of course, I am so sorry"

He said, jumping up quickly and standing to his feet.

"So how can I dry my clothes?" He asked with a serious expression.

"Well, you could always take them off…" I said cheekily.

"Nice try, Susannah!" He laughed, walking over and playfully pushing me.

"I have an idea"

I turned and headed for the bathroom, motioning with one of my fingers for him to follow me.

Then I suddenly wondered, was he was watching my butt? Great, now I've corrupted his innocent mind into thinking about my body…

"Jesse,"

I looked back quickly, catching a glimpse of him looking down at my lower region. He looked quickly up towards my eyes, acting like he hadn't been looking.

"By the way, you sure have an interesting way of reading books _upside down_" I laughed as he stopped in his tracks.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself; it had to be said" I nudged him softly in the stomach.

He looked really embarrassed and remained silent as he continued to follow me into the bathroom.

I plugged the blow-drier back into the switch and turned to face him. He looked down at it in my hand and looked a little bit worried.

"It just blows out warm air. This is what I use to dry my hair…"

I said turning it on and letting the air touch my hand.

"…It doesn't hurt" I giggled.

I turned it towards the front of his shirt and showed him what I meant.

"This is an amazing device,"

He said feeling the spot on the shirt, which was already starting to dry.

"Yeah, well I'll leave you to it aye?"

I said giving him the drier and leaving the room.

As I layed in bed, listening to the drier, I thought about just how lucky I was to have that Jesse… Even though he is a ghost, you gotta love him!

After a few minutes, I was almost dozing off, with the sound of the drier still buzzing in my ears.

"Um, Susannah?"

I heard Jesse call out. He probably needed help turning it off. I got out of bed and headed over to the bathroom, again.

By now his clothes had dried. The shirt was back to it billowy old self, not revealing what it was covering… damn.

"You've done a good job," I said eyeing his clothes.

"I'm just having problems drying my back… would you be able to…"

I smiled and took the blow-drier he had handed me.

The shirt had almost dried itself anyway… but hey I wasn't complaining.

I put my hand under the back of his shirt, as I was drying it, to lift it away from his skin. In the process of drying, my hand had touched his back, and I swear I felt him shiver. Can ghosts actually shiver?

After it had properly dried, I turned the drier off and leaned in front of Jesse to pull it out from the switch.

"Um, thank you for doing that,"

He said a little awkwardly as I turned to face him.

Why was it, that every time I looked into his eyes, I felt butterflies in my stomach? I search his face, longing for an answer.

Then, I couldn't contain myself; he looked so gorgeous… I stood up on my toes and kissed him lightly on his lips.

"Goodnight," I whispered into his ear.

He seemed a little stunned by my actions and cleared his throat.

"Buonas noches mi Querida," Was his reply as I had turned to leave the room.

I gave a happy sigh and with that, I climbed into my bed and pulled the covers up.

It was so good, to have the man of your dreams constantly sharing your room… What more can a girl ask for? Even though I wasn't too sure where exactly our relationship now stands…

Just as I was drifting off into a deep sleep, replaying the loveliest night ever, over in my head, subconsciously, I think Jesse had whispered into my ear "Oh, Querida, I'll love you more than you'll ever know".


	11. Unleashed Emotions

**Unleashed Emotions - Friday Morning**

I slowly opened my eyes and realised that I was on my side, tucked in and secure.

The next thing I noticed was Jesse. He was fast asleep, half hanging off a chair which was positioned right next to my bed. His body was totally flopped forward with the top of his head facing towards me, on the mattress next to my pillow.

Um, ok just a little weird… I haven't ever woken to something like this before.

I layed there watching Jesse sleep, while listening to the rain, which was still pelting down outside.

So many thoughts were spinning through my head all at once.

I really liked Jesse, but I couldn't let him know how I truly felt about him. Last night was so beautiful, but us forming a relationship would just make things too complicated. He is such an amazing guy, so gorgeous, so caring and understanding… and very patient.

But it was wrong… with him being a ghost and all. It just wouldn't work out. Face it Suze, I told myself, the odds are against us.

Something looked different about him this morning; I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. I reached out for one of his hands and held it in my own.

The touch of my hand had made him slowly open his eyes, and I smiled at him. I let go of his hand and rolled onto my back. I stretched with my arms out and yawned. Jesse sat up in the chair and smiled down at me.

"Good morning Querida, how are you feeling today?" He asked.

I giggled. "I'm fine"

"What are you giggling at young lady?"

"Nothing. Well, something…"

Jesse looked down at me curiously, yet suspiciously.

"Don't look at me like that…" I whined, as I pulled the covers over my face.

I was about to ask him why I had found him so close to my bed this morning. But I thought hey, why complain? Anyway, he didn't even ask about why I was giggling, so I didn't feel like I had to ask my question.

"It's still early, Jesse," I mumbled through the quilt cover.

He then pulled the covers down off my face so quickly, that it actually scared me.

"I didn't catch a word of that," He chuckled, leaning forward in the chair.

I groaned and rolled over, facing my back towards him.

"I said that it's still early… need more sleep"

"Oh, well that's a shame…"

Hey? What's he talking about? Before I had time to even turn back around, he had already gotten up from the chair.

He stood in front of my dressing table, and turned to face me.

"Close your eyes for a minute"

"Huh?"

I raised my eyebrows, sat up and gave him a weird look.

"Just close your eyes"

He smiled, rolling his eyes. I sighed and done what he told me to do. What is with this guy? Something is definitely going on here…

All of a sudden, I felt something flat and rectangular gently being placed on my lap.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now"

I did, and looked down to see what was sitting on my lap. It was a tray, complete with what looked like breakfast… Well there was a piece of bread, with a slice of cheese on it, a few strawberries on the side, a small tub of vanilla yoghurt and a glass of orange juice.

I was completely speechless…

First of all, that's quite an interesting combination of food there… seeing as though I always have toast or cereal in the morning. And second of all… Um, Jesse brought me breakfast?

He sat back down on the chair beside me, smiling nervously.

"I hope it is alright… I know you burn your bread, but that machine you put it in, well, it is a little bit daunting…"

I was still completely speechless, as I stared down at the food before me.

"Susannah?"

Jesse said, looking at my stunned, frozen posture.

"…You don't like it? "

I snapped out of it as though someone had clicked their fingers, bringing me back to reality.

"You made this… for me?"

"No. It was actually supposed to be for Spike"

He said sarcastically, resting his hands behind his head.

I narrowed my eyes at him while smiling "Smart arse".

"I woke up rather early this morning," He said looking at the food, which sat on my lap.

"And I thought it would be nice for you to have breakfast in bed"

I bit gently down on my lower lip.

"So, you… just walked downstairs and helped yourself around the kitchen?"

He nodded.

"Oh I would have _loved_ to see that!" I laughed.

"What if someone walked in and found a slice of cheese, floating… and somehow making it's way onto the bread"

Jesse shrugged his shoulders.

"It was early. No one in this house gets up that early"

I picked up a strawberry and ate it.

"Well, thank you… This was very much unexpected, but it's lovely, thanks"

"You are more than welcome, Susannah"

He smiled, pleased that I was actually eating the food he gave me.

School. Shudders. I was bored, and wished I was somewhere else… with Jesse…

But no, it was the last lesson before lunch, and I was stuck doing trigonometry with my boring maths teacher.

How was I supposed to concentrate on solving mathematical equations, while my mind was off, thinking about last night, and this morning's episode with Jesse. What is a girl to do?

As I starred down at my blank page, it had suddenly hit me. Who was I fooling? I really _did _love him! I should have told him everything about how I feel.

Like, the way his crisp hair falls so delicately over his forehead. The way his dark, sensual eyes connect with mine and make me melt. His lips… his beautiful, soft, delicate lips and the way his smile is just so perfect… And his incredible, masculine body… Oh, my God!

I could go on and on about his outside appearance, but even though he was a complete hunk; that wasn't all that's so fantastic about Jesse.

He's a complete gentleman, and trust me, it's hard to find a man with polite and 'honourable intentions' towards a girl. He's someone who'll worry about you, when you're late or take care of you when you're injured. Someone who'll understand and listen to you, even when you're crapping on about problems or girly issues… Not that I ever get too personal!

He's someone who can make shivers run though your entire body, with just a single word… Someone who will promise to stay by your side and look after you, forever… Someone like, Jesse!

"Holy Shit!"

I immediately stood up, scrapping my chair against the floor and started throwing my books and equipment into my backpack.

"Excuse me, Miss Simon!"

My maths teacher forcefully spoke, as the whole class turned in my direction.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mrs Thompson. But I really, really have to go"

The teacher stood in front of the door, as I ran to the front of the room.

"What is going on? Where must you desperately get to?"

She asked folding her thick arms across her large body.

"I, err, have an appointment to see Father Dominic…"

Mrs Thompson didn't look completely satisfied with my answer.

"… And this lesson had gone so fast, that I had lost track of the time…"

She rolled her eyes and groaned at me suspiciously. "If I find out, Miss Simon, that you have been lying to me, it will be detention and extra homework for two weeks!"

I gulped. "I understand…" I said slowly as she had stepped aside for me to pass.

This can not wait any longer. I thought as I ran at full speed down the corridor, with my shoes making a racket on the cement. I have to see Jesse, and I have to tell him my feelings now! He loves me, I know that… and it's not fair on him, if I don't speak my mind.

As I sped around the corner, like a charging bull, racing towards a red cloth … Nothing could stop me; nothing could keep me away from _my_ Jesse…

Well, that's what I thought until… CRASH!

I full on collided into Mr Tate, my History teacher, sending pages and pages of essays flying into the air around us.

"Oops!"

Was all I could say as I stood there waiting to cop an ear full from this grumpy old teacher.

"What on earth do you think you are doing? Speeding around blind corners like a… Like a charging…"

"Bull?" I finished, offering my thoughts on the matter.

His face grew red from anger.

"You will accompany me to the Principal's Office at once, young lady! After you've picked all of these essays back up!"

He pointed his finger savagely, and gave me a stern, fierce look.

Oh, give me a break, I felt like saying as I started gathering the scattered papers. I'm just a sixteen year old girl, who's realised that she has to confess her everlasting love to the man of her dreams… gees, am I asking to much?

Father Dom was not a happy chappie, once Mr Tate had completed telling his rather dramatic rendition of the incident.

After Father Dom had asked me to apologise to a very flustered Mr Tate, he kindly asked him to leave. After he had closed the door behind him, Father Dom turned to face me.

"Susannah, what do you have to say for yourself?" And why were you out of class?"

I took a deep breath and sighed.

"I didn't mean to… I'm just going through an emotional time right now"

He looked at me, raising his eyebrows.

"An emotional time dealing with ghosts, or women issues?"

I can't believe Father Dom is accusing my love for Jesse as being PMS!

"The first one, Father D!"

"I told you that you can come and talk to me if you're having problems. You are not on your own here Susannah"

No, I most certainly was _not _on my own. I had Jesse! Then my mind focused back onto Jesse again, and how I had to leave right now.

"Look Father Dom, I really apologise. I promise I will discuss my issues with you in the future, I really will…"

"What do you want Susannah?"

He asked, rubbing his hands on his forehead, knowing that I was beginning to crap on into a meaningless conversation.

"Well, I have a double lesson of sport after lunch… And I really don't think I'm up for it…"

He sighed, but actually gave in to my request on going home. Oh, I'm good; I'm _real_ good!

Anyway, by the time I had stepped out of the office, lunch had already been running for about 10 minutes.

I quickly made my way over towards where Adam was scoffing down his lunch and asked him for a ride home. He eagerly agreed without asking too many questions. Nice, I love how I can convince people into doing what I want… I have a very special power here!

br All of my emotions were stirring up inside my stomach as I bolted up the driveway towards the front door and opened it abruptly.

"Jesse!"

I yelled, knowing that nobody else was home.

He turned his head from where he was casually sitting on the lounge, watching television.

"Jesse?" I repeated, in a totally different tone.

He looked started from my entry and the fact that I was breathing heavily.

"Susannah, what's wrong?" He stood up, and immediately made his way over to me.

"Nothing, nothing… What are you doing?"

I asked, completely forgetting about what I wanted to tell him.

"Susannah, my Querida!"

He grabbed my shoulders and squeezed them tight. His smile was so wide I thought his skin would split or something.

"The most _spectacular _thing happened to me today!" He said full of enthusiasm.

With his hands on my shoulders, and his beaming eyes starring down at me, I couldn't contain myself any more. Just as he was about to say something else…

"Jesse I love you!" I blurted out.

His head jolted back quickly, and he raised his eyebrows, while keeping his huge grin.

"I'm never going to find another guy like you. I don't care about the whole 'nobody else can see you' issue, I just want to be with you… Because I love you Jesse, I really do, and that's all that matters… I love you!"

By the look on Jesse's face, I think that I might have said that _way_ to fast.

"So I'm sorry I interrupted you, what were you going to say?"

I didn't know what else to say, it was another awkward moment.


	12. Do you Believe in Miracles?

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****I would just like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed and appreciates my writing... Your opinions and thoughts inspire me to continue! Thanks xxx** **Jesse's my Man**

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Jesse's mouth slightly opened, as his huge grin suddenly appeared once again across his face.

"Do you believe in miracles?" He asked.

Before I had time to say anything, he had taken my hand and held against his chest.

Ooh. Nice, Suze gets to cop a feel of somebody's… hold on…

"Why are you making me feel your … … HEART BEAT?"

My legs suddenly turned to jelly and I collapsed, only to have Jesse catch me in his arms.

"Susannah, my Querida, I'm alive!"

Jesse half yelled, half laughed, grabbing me in his arms and hugging me tightly.

I was completely stunned… Like, _What the FUCK_?

"It was the strangest feeling Querida. Once you had left this morning, I felt hungry, _really_ hungry"

He said pulling me back and holding meby my shoulders, kind of shaking me.

"What? But how… did this…"

I tried to say between the shakes that he was giving me.

"I don't know, I _don't_ know!" He said frantically.

Then he let go of me and started to pace across the room. I wasn't able to stand up on my own, and I flopped to the floor, lifelessly with my eyes bulging up at Jesse who was pacing like a tiger.

"Maybe it had something to do with last night? You know, it was that same night back in 1850 when…"

He turned to face me, and realised I was on the floor. Jesse suddenly stopped pacing and ran over to where I was, knelt down beside me and cupped my face in both of his large, soft hands.

"Maybe it was when you realised that you loved _me_ in return…"

His face suddenly turned serious and he lifted my lifeless body up onto the lounge and sat beside me, holding my hands in his own.

"Maybe, it's because I had died before I had gotten the chance to love somebody… That may explain why I was trapped here… Until I had found my true love?"

_True love? True love? _Was he calling me, Susannah Simon… His _True Love?_

I felt that my mouth had gone dry.

"I…well, maybe… TRUE LOVE?"

I blurted out, unable to control it. He smiled and gently ran his hand along my jaw line, which was hanging open.

"Yes, that is why I am really glad that you had blurted out your feelings earlier" He gave me a cheeky grin.

I gave him a huge cheesy grin back, and he embraced my body in a huge bear hug.

For the first time ever, was able to feel Jesse's heart beat… He was alive! 

All of a sudden the front door opened.

"Suze, I heard raised voices…"

It was Adam, and he stopped his sentence due to seeing this 'cowboy' dressed man hugging me.

Jesse released me from his grip, and I spun around to face Adam.

"Adam?"

I looked back at Jesse who was biting his bottom lip, with his hands behind his back.

"Everything is fine, Adam," I said, pulling a few loose strands of hair from my face.

We all reframed from speaking for a moment, as each of us looked from one another in an uncomfortable silence.

"Um, well I guess I better introduce you guys," I said, standing in between them.

"Adam, this is Jesse. He's… an exchange student, from Spain"

Pretty good for a spur of the moment decision, hey?

"Jesse, this is Adam, he's one of my best friends from school"

Jesse outstretched an arm to shake Adam's. "Nice to meet you, Adam".

He hesitated for a minute, then shook Jesse's hand. "Likewise"

I noticed that he was eyeing Jesse's clothes in a weird way… I wouldn't blame him, so did I, the first time I met him. So I quickly thought up a reason before he commented.

"Oh, and before you ask about the whole 'cowboy' type clothing, there is a logical explanation…"

I received a disgusted, icy look from Jesse about the 'cowboy' description.

"I mean… Well, he's not actually a cowboy… He's into, um, dancing… Yeah, Spanish dancing".

I winked at Jesse and turned back to Adam who seemed a little, suspicious.

Man, why is everyone suspicious of me these days!

"I'm taking lessons," Jesse added.

"Really? Well, how come you never told me that you were hosting an exchange student?" Adam asked, finally taking his eyes off Jesse and onto me.

"He only arrived this afternoon, so… Surprise!"

I acted excited and outstretched my arms, pointing to Jesse and showing him off as if he were in spotlight. Ok, this was going badly.

"Adam, could I please have a word with you?"

I guided him into the next room, leaving Jesse for a minute.

"Um, Adam, about that whole hug thing you walked in on… That's just howhe was taught togreet people, I didn't want to offend his… traditional ways, you know?"

Adam nodded slowly. "So it wasn't because he's good looking?"

"Shut up Adam!" I demanded, as I heard Jesse chuckling quietly in the next room.

I rolled my eyes. "Look, Adam…" I guided him back into the lounge room, where Jesse had a slight smirk on his face.

"We have a problem…" I started.

Jesse gave me a look, which indicated, do we?

"Yeah, um see, Jesse didn't realise that Carmel's weather patterns where um, warmer. He wasn't aware that we were situated near the coast, and he packed for colder weather conditions…"

I subtlety nudged Jesse to make him agree.

"Yes, Susannah is correct. It is my mistake, I should have asked about the weather conditions" Jesse spoke in a tedious way. I could tell he didn't like lying.

"Anyway, I was wondering Adam… If you could take him shopping?"

"_Shopping_?" Jesse and Adam said in unison.

"Suze, I have to get back to school"

"And I don't want to trouble him" Jesse added.

I looked down at the ground disappointed.

"See I have to make my family aware of his arrival, and…"

"They don't know?" Adam interrupted.

"… I wanted him to at least have some decent clothes…" I finished.

Adam sighed and gave in. "Ah, what the hell. C'mon Jesse, I suppose I could take you down to the mall for a while… It's only a double lesson of sport after all"

"Thank you Adam" I said cheerfully, patting his back.

"No worries… I'll wait outside"

"You rock man!" I called after him.

Jesse took me by the arm and pulled me away from the door.

"Susannah, what are you doing?"

"Hey, I thought it was a good idea, the whole exchange student idea. My family will totally buy that. They're always encouraging me to make new friends. And besides, you _do_ need clothes".

"But… what if they don't like me, or they don't want me to stay?"

I laughed. "My mother will take one look at you, and will automatically embrace you into the family"

He gave me a worried look.

"It will be ok, trust me" I rubbed his arm.

He took a step closer to me, closing the gap between our bodies.

"I hope so, because I don't want to loose you…"

I smiled and ran my fingers through his fringe. "We'll work something out. Anyway, how about we get you into some of Sleepy's clothes, just while you go down to the mall"

He agreed, followed me into Sleepy's bedroom and watched as I handed him a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt.

"These should fit you" I nodded my head.

"Um, I would feel more comfortable if you would come along with us," He said, looking down at the clothes in his hands.

"… Into guy's clothing stores and dressing rooms?" I laughed.

"Adam's a great guy, he'll make sure you get up to date with the latest fashion. Anyway, I have to stay here and explain to my family that an 'exchange student' is on their way".

I left him to change and stood out on the front lawn, advising Adam on the sort of things that Jesse needed to buy, and handed him some cash.

Suddenly, my eye caught Jesse stepping out from the house. My breath got caught in my throat, and it suddenly felt really stuffy, even though I was outside.

Sometimes I used to imagine what Jesse would look like, dressed in modern day clothes but whoa! Nothing could have prepared me right nowfor what was heading my way.

Three words girls… Hot and Spunky! Or the typical… Oh my God!

His face suddenly screwed up as he looked down at himself, adjusting the shirt.

"I don't know if these clothes suit me, Susannah…" He whispered softly.

Adam raised his eyebrows. "Mate, you look like you've stepped out of some movie. The ones where all the hot chicks would die to get you in bed."

"Adam!" I shot him a disgusted look, punching his chest.

"Hot… Chicks?" Jesse didn't get it. And I think that I was glad.

"Don't worry Jesse, trust me, the clothes look fine! You're just not used to the style"

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me.

"If you say so"

As he made his way into the passenger seat of Adam's car, I had to sneak a peak at his rear. Maybe that was a mistake. I started to choke on my own saliva.

Adam turned around and started to pat my back.

"Are you alright, Suze?"

I nodded furiously, trying to hide my blushing cheeks.

Adam winked at me. "You're 'dream guy' has finally arrived, hey?"

I looked at Jesse, who was looking blankly out the front window.

"Yeah, whatever Adam, just make sure you get him decent clothes!" I called as he had stepped into the driver's seat.

I spent the next two hours making up crap, and trying to explain to my family about how I had signed up to host an exchange student from Spain.

**Andy:** "You should have asked us first, Suze"

**Mum:** "The house is in a mess! I'll never get it tidied in time"

**Dopey**: "I don't want a Spanish poof in our house"

**Andy:** "You watch your language Brad!"

**Sleepy:** "What's going on? Who's a poof?"

**Doc:** "Maybe he likes science… This could be interesting"

**Dopey:** "She said he comes from a ranch, idiot. As if he'd know any science"

**Doc:** "Well he can't be any worse than you!"

**Andy:** "That's it! Brad, go to your room!"

**Mum:** "Well, I guess it would be a good experience, and a chance to learn about different cultures and lifestyles"

**Doc:** "I agree"

They finally agreed on letting Jesse stay… Well Dopey didn't want a bar of it, and Sleepy just couldn't care less, as long as he got his sleep.

The sound of Adam's car pulled up in the driveway.

"That's him," I excitedly said, quickly heading over to the front door.

Jesse stepped out of the car. I swear it was like one of those scenes from the movies. You know, when they slow motion a totally gorgeous guy getting out of the vehicle and he runs his hand through his thick hair.

He had changed out of Sleepy's clothes and was now dressed in a new pair of jeans and a royal blueshort sleeved, buttoned shirt.

I had frozen in my tracks. How could he look so good? How could this man be _mine_?

My father walked up behind me and waved a hand in front of my face.

"Come on Suze, just don't stand there, make him feel welcome" He headed towards Jesse.

My mother stood beside me and wrapped one of her arms around mine, and the other moved up to her mouth.

"_He_ lives on a ranch?" She stared at him anxiously.

I saw Andy introduce himself and stretch out an open arm to shake Jesse's.

"How are you going mate?"

"I am well Mr Ackerman, I hope it's not any trouble with me staying here" He replied nervously.

"Nonsense"

My mum said, letting go of my arm and making her way over to meet him.

"It's not any trouble at all. We would love for you to stay with us".

By this time, Adam had brought Jesse's suitcase, (which I told him to buy) full of clothing they had just purchased, out of the trunk and stopped beside me.

I was off in 'fairy land'… Smiling and trying to absorb the fact that Jesse was actually meeting my family.

"Earth to Suze" Adam called.

"Oh, Adam…" I turned to face him. "You startled me… How did it go?"

"He's a nice guy, Suze. A little weird when it comes to seeing everyday appliances, but he's cool" Adam said leaning on the suitcase.

"Thank you for doing that, Adam"

"No worries. Well, I see you on Monday, yeah?"

"Ok, see you"

Doc had now, walked over and introduced himself. It sounded as though he was babbling on in some scientific way.

Then I turned back to see that Dopey had come out to see what Jesse looked like, and was leaning against the porch. Sleepy followed and slouched down on the step.

Dopey noticed my gaze, shot me a pissed off look and pretended to hurl. I rolled my eyes.

"Susannah, dear" I heard my mother calling me.

I turned around to find her with one of her arms linked into Jesse's, and they were heading towards me. I knew she would be immediately taken in by Jesse's charm, even if she were a little embarrassing.

By the look on Jesse's face though, I think he seemed to like soaking up the attention… And he was definitely doing a good job at acting!

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Susannah"

Jesse winked and smiled one of his beautiful smiles down at me, as he offered me his hand.

I put my hand into his gentle grasp. "Yeah, nice to finally meet you" I said, awkwardly.

Then he brought my hand up to his lips and planted a soft kiss on my knuckles.

"Awe, you are such a gentleman!"

My mother squealed, taking his arm and guiding him inside.

We all sat around the dinner table. Andy sat at the head of the table, to the left followed Sleepy and Dopey. My Mother sat at the other end, and Jesse, myself and Doc sat on the other side.

"Could you tell us a little bit about yourself dear? Your hobbies, interests…" My mum asked, handing out plates.

"I love to read. I find that literature is a great way to improve your knowledge and it stimulates ones imagination"

Dopey and Sleepy chuckled rudely, and Dopey muttered "Poof" under his breath.

I seemed to be the only one who heard, seeing as thought he was sitting opposite me. So I kicked his shin hard, from under the table.

Andy nodded approvingly at what Jesse had said.

"So, Jesse, do you have any siblings?" My father asked, before taking a mouth full of pasta.

"Yes, I had… _have_ (he corrected) three younger sisters"

Dopey snorted "Well that explains a few things"

I kicked him from under the table again, harder, knowing that he was referring about Jesse's sexual orientation.

My father raised a finger to warm Dopey not to push his luck.

Jesse noticed that I had kicked Dopey, and he moved his hand under the table and gently placed it on my thigh. Startled by the warmth and feel of Jesse's hand, I looked at him.

"It's ok", he mouth silently. Then he gave my thigh a bit of a squeeze before removing his hand.

I smiled dreamily into space…

"You seem rather educated for someone who lives and works on a ranch…" Doc said, taking a drink of juice. "Are you into anything scientific?"

"Um," Jesse cleared his throat, probably from the fact that he'd touched my thigh.

Nice one. Mental note to Suze... I must return the favour later on… Not as in I'm going to sleep with him! Ooh, wait… the thought of me, cuddled up close in Jesse's arms… in my bed… Yeah!

Hold on, we haven't even discussed sleeping arrangements… I somehow don't think Mum and Andy would be too happy with a 20-year-old Spanish hottie sleeping in my room… Damn!

Anyway, what was Jesse saying? I might tune back in…

"… I enjoy studying history and reading about past events… and the changes which moved us into the 21st Century" Jesse told Doc

He nodded slowly before asking some other stupid question, which he didn't get to finish, as the phone began to ring.

"I'll get it," Sleepy looked at his watch. "It's probably work"

We all silently continued eating.

"Suze, it's for you," Sleepy muttered entering the room.

I stood up, wiping my mouth with a napkin and headed into the kitchen where the phone was situated.

It must be Cee Cee, I thought to myself. Yeah, she must be angry about the fact that Adam and I had left her at school to do sport on her own.

I picked up the receiver.

"Cee Cee, I'm sorry about this afternoon…"

"Suze?"

A familiar male's voice interrupted me.

Oh _Shit_! My body had become paralysed, as a cold shiver ran down my spine…


	13. Threatening Words

**Threatening Words - Friday Night**

"Suze. Please don't hang up…"

"Why shouldn't I?" I demanded, taking the cordless phone away from the kitchen, so that no one could here me.

"Because we need to talk"

"Hah! There's nothing I want to say to you, Brett"

"Then please, let me talk…"

I sighed loudly, hoping that he'd catch on that I didn't want to be having this conversation with him. I know I should have just slammed the phone down right there and then, but his submissive tone was actually quite amusing.

"Ok, make it quick. I'm in the middle of dinner"

"I'm sorry! I am _really_ sorry if I hurt you, Suze…"

"Oh, finished?"

"No, I am _not _finished. Suze, I want to talk to you, personally…"

I gave a quick laugh before answering. "Yeah right!"

"I mean it Suze, I have to see you. I want to talk… That's all"

"How am I supposed to believe you, when your one track mind is only trying to get in my pants?"

There was a bit of a silence, as he didn't know what to say next. I can't believe that he actually thinks that I want to see him again… Creepy!

"I didn't mean to move so fast with you… You're just, so beautiful"

"You are a perverted creep, Brett" I told him, before hanging up.

Everyone was looking at me when I entered back into the dining room, as I was all hot and flustered.

"Is everything alright, darling?" My mother asked.

I sat back down on my seat, which was in between Doc and Jesse.

"Yeah, just an argument with someone from school"

Jesse gave me a quick sideways glance, realising that something was wrong. He looked like he was going to say something, but then Sleepy's chair scraped along the floor. Sleepy stood up and took his plate into the kitchen and headed off to work.

I tried to hide the fact that I was scared. Scared, because I didn't know what Brett was capable of … and how far he was willing to go.

After dinner, Doc and Jesse had moved their conversation out into the lounge room. Far out! Doc would _not_ shut up! I am surprised both of them are not going blue in the face due to lack of air.

Unfortunately, Jesse had taken a great interest in my goofy brother's science talk, and Doc was interested in Jesse's boring history knowledge.

This was not what is supposed to happen… I want Jesse all to myself! He's mine!

I grumbled and decided that I would leave them to chat. At least Jesse is fitting in and feeling comfortable.

"Hey Suze," Doc called after me.

"Guess what, Jesse has agreed to stay in my room… You know, because I have the bunk…"

I looked over at Jesse, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, ok… Whatever" I turned and left.

Once that I had made my way up the stairs, I walked over to my window seat and gazed out at the night sky. It was so beautiful; each star was twinkling down, lighting up the sky. Just as I had started to think about the other night, when Jesse had taken me up onto the roof, there was a soft knock on my door.

"Come in…" I called, thinking that it was my mother.

"Jesse!"

Why do I always get so excited when I see him? Hmm, maybe because he _loves me_!

"Susannah, I am so sorry"

"Huh?"

I gave him a confused look while moving over so that he could sit next to me, which he did.

"I should have politely asked your brother earlier, to um..."

"Shut up?" I interrupted.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, not you. I was saying that you should've told my brother to shut up…"

"Well, that's a little rude… Anyway, I ended our conversation so that I could talk to you…"

His face was so serious, as he looked into my eyes.

"Awe, that's so sweet of you…" I smiled up at him.

"But I feel that something is wrong, Susannah. You are hiding something. Please talk to me"

Nothing ever passes this guy, hey?

"It's nothing, you worry about me too much…" I said, taking his hand and curling his fingers in mine.

"Yes, I _do_ worry about you, Querida. If something is upsetting you, I want to help. You mean the world to me…"

I smiled and moved my body onto his lap, where he embraced me in a gentle hug.

He was so warm, so I nestled into his body, with my back against his chest. I sunk down and looked up at him.

"Well, you mean the _universe_ to me!"

He chuckled and kissed my forehead, making me giggle. We sat there in silence, taking in every second as we gazed out of the window. This is what I loved about Jesse. Just being about to sit here, in his arms and quietly relax.

Until somebody interrupts, that is.

"Hey guys…" Doc yelled, running up the stairs.

I quickly jumped up from Jesse's lap, and accidentally elbowed him in the groin. He instantly let out a deep moan and buckled forward, holding the area where I had just elbowed him.

Doc entered, before I had a chance to apologise. His eyes looked at Jesse, who was in pain, and then at me, as if I had hurt him… On purpose!

"Stomach pains!" I awkwardly blurted out.

Jesse tried to sit back up; his face was rather red… And he moved his hands onto his stomach, pretending to have a cramp.

"I think I must have eaten too fast…" He managed to get out.

"Well anyway," Doc said, looking back at me.

"I spoke to Dad, and he has decided that we're all going on a family outing tomorrow, because the weather is going to be great" Doc said excitedly, trying to ignore Jesse, who had turned around facing the window, still in pain.

"Really? …" I said, showing enthusiasm as I wanted Doc to hurry up and get out.

"Yep, and I suggested to go to 'Wet n Wild'! It's so cool. Dad said that was a great idea because you haven't even had the chance to go since you've been here, and I thought Jesse would like it too…"

"That's great, Doc. It really is. Now if you'd be so kind as to leave…"

I started to guide him to the door. "… Jesse and I were talking"

"Oh, sorry… Talking? He looked over at Jesse.

"Anyway, when you're finished Jesse, come and hang out in my room… I'll show you all my science…"

"Ok" I interrupted. "He'll be over in a minute"

I closed the door behind him and turned back to Jesse, who went back to holding his groin.

"I am so, _very_, sorry!"

I said leaning against the door, trying to hold back every urge from laughing. He cleared his throat and looked over at me, as all embarrassment from his face disappeared.

"That is the _last_ time you are sitting on my lap, young lady"

His plain expression quickly changed, as his mouth started to curl up into a grin. Then I thought that now, was the perfect opportunity to release my laughter… And it was loud. I was laughing so hard, that I had to bend over and hold my stomach.

Suddenly, I felt Jesse's hands land on my waist, and I was lifted off the ground and was turned upside down.

"Jesseeeeeeee"

I laughed, as I could feel that all my blood was running to my head.

"Tell me that you are sorry, once more" He demanded, trying to stop me from thrashing my legs around.

I couldn't say anything; I was in the middle of my laughing fit. He realised that I wasn't going to stop anytime soon, so he turned me around the right way, stood me in front of my bed and held my shoulders.

"You are nuts, girl" He said, trying not to laugh at my face.

"_Nuts_!" I laughed even harder, which started to cause tears to form in my eyes.

He stood there staring at me blankly for the next few minutes, until I had finally calmed down, and wiped the tears away from my face.

"Oh dear… That was funny" I sniffed.

"You reckon?" He raised his eyebrows. "Maybe we should see how funny it really is!"

With that, he firmly pushed me back onto the bed, nearly knocking the wind out of me.

"My God Jesse, I'm not a puppet, I have bones" I coughed, unblocking my windpipe.

"Yeah, I know," He said, walking around to the left side of my bed to grab my pillow.

"So do I!" He grinned as he snatched the pillow.

"Hey, give my pillow back!"

I whined, sitting up and swinging my legs around to the side where Jesse was standing.

"What, this pillow?"

He held it up high above his head, so that I couldn't reach, even on my tiptoes. After a few attempts, I pointlessly gave up and pulled my best 'sad puppy' face.

He gave a chuckle. "That won't work on me, Susannah".

I took one last jump and swipe, but no use… So I resorted to my last option.

"Oh well. Plan B it is!"

Before he had a chance to ask what I was talking about, I had pulled his head down to meet mine, and I kissed his lips.

He was surprised at first, but this quickly melted him, forcing him to drop the pillow and wrap his arms around me. As soon as he had dropped it, I slipped out of his embrace and dived for the pillow. I stood back up, hugging the pillow in front of my body.

"Hey… That is not fair…" Jesse said, rather stunned.

"I didn't know there were rules" I smiled cheekily.

Then he took a step forward and pulled the pillow and me clung to it, against his body.

"This has caused nothing but trouble…" He said, gripping it tightly.

"You're telling me!"

I giggled, forcing it from his grip and lifting the pillow over him and around the back of his head, pulling him closer to me. Then Jesse slowly brought his lips closer to mine.

"This is going to be the first night…" He whispered, before gently kissing me.

My heat skipped a beat. First night… For what exactly?

While still kissing me, he took the pillow from my hands and guided me over to the bed. What is he doing? Oh my God… This is Jesse, isn't it?

He picked me up in his arms, _still_ kissing me, pulled my covers back quickly and lowered me down onto the bed. He seriously wasn't considering it, was he? … But my family… _Doc_ knows that he's in here!

Then, he pulled the covers over my body and knelt down beside me, stroking my hair.

"… It's the first night that I won't be here to look over you while you sleep"

Oh, that's what he meant. I kind of sighed from relief… I mean, I love Jesse, but not now, in these circumstances… I mean, my family thinks that I've only known him for one day!

"I will miss you" I pouted.

Jesse rubbed his thumb on one of my cheeks.

"Good night and sweet dreams, my Querida"

"Good night and sweet dreams to you too, my Jesse"

He smiled and gave me one last kiss on my cheek before standing up. As he slowly left my side and walked around the bed, I giggled.

"See you tomorrow, in your swimming costume!"

He stopped and raised his eyebrows in my direction.

"You did buy one, didn't you?" I smirked and sat up, resting on my elbows.

"…Yes" He hesitated. "They are, um…"

"Ooh, show me. Let me see"

Jesse cleared his throat, twiddled his fingers and gave an awkward laugh.

"I err, do not agree that, that is actually appropriate…"

This was very amusing you know. I had to play with this conversation.

"Did you get Speedos?" I couldn't help but snort after asking.

"I beg your pardon?"

I laughed. "Don't worry Jesse, a lot of guys wear board shorts over their costume"

He slowly nodded as if learning something important. "Really?"

"You'll see tomorrow… Anyway, my brothers do"

I could tell that this topic was making him a little uncomfortable, so as much as I liked having fun, I ended it.

"See you tomorrow Jesse. It's going to be heaps of fun"

I rolled over and smiled at his worried face. "Now start moving to Doc's room, and go learn some valuable information" I teased.

He gave me a quick smile and headed over to the door, stopping for one last time.

"I'm not far, Querida… If you need anything…"

"I'll be fine Jesse" I laughed. "I'm a big girl, you know"

And with that, he closed the door and left me…

I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried, and I couldn't stop thinking about Jesse… I rolled over and looked at my bedside clock.

"11:07" I mumbled, rolling over and burying my head in my pillow, which still smelt like Jesse.

Mmm, I've got Jesse cravings…

Then, something landed on my small balcony with a loud thud. I ignored it at first, not being bothered to care. But then curiosity won over my laziness.

As I moved closer to the window, I noticed that a rather large rock sat there, with something white attached to it.

After I had opened the window and climbed out to see what was attached. Shit, somebody has thrown this I realised. After scanning the yard from my balcony, I quickly grabbed the rock, climbed back into my bedroom and secured the window shut.

It was a letter. I slowly opened it up, expecting the worst… That maybe it was from Brett.

I read it out loud to myself.

"_Suze, I love you! But if you keep ignoring me and won't agree to talk…Then, I may have to resort to other means of communication!_

_I don't want to hurt you Suze. You bring this on yourself_".

The piece of paper slipped from my hands and I stood there, frozen stiff.

Who on earth is this guy?

He's threatening me…


	14. What is a Querida?

All I wanted right now, was to be in Jesse's arms. For him to hold me close, to comfort me, and tell me that everything was going to be ok… But he wasn't here… And I don't think that it was going to be ok…

I sat down on the end of my bed and thought about what I should do about Brett. If I tell Jesse about what's going on… He would probably go after him and beat him to a pulp… Not that I didn't like the sound of that… But the last thing I want right now, was for Jesse to be charged by the police… Or worse, put in jail!

Like hell, I wanted to see Brett again, but I figured that maybe if I just let him talk, perhaps he wouldn't harm me.

It took every ounce of will power and courage that I could fathom, for me to pick up the phone and dial his number. My hand was shaking like crazy as I held the phone to my ear, listening to the dial tone ring.

Was I making the right choice? Or was this a crazy mistake…

"Hey, Brett speaking," He answered, sounding cheerfully.

I was lost for words, after I had regrettably heard his spine tingling voice on the other end of the phone.

"Ah, hello. Anyone there?"

"Um, it's me…" I managed to choke out.

"Suze? Is that you?"

He sounded surprised, but I could sense that devilish grin was upon his face. I decided that I didn't want him to think that I was weak or afraid of him, so I confidently spoke up.

"What are you playing at, Brett? You know that I can take this to the cops..."

"I didn't think that you'd reply so hastily Suze," He said, totally ignoring me.

"But I am glad that you decided to give me another chance"

"I am _not _giving you another chance! It's over Brett. In fact it never really began…"

"Oh please," He interrupted me.

"Can you honestly tell me, that you didn't appreciate my company?"

I remained calm and focused, forcing myself not to explode my anger, which I could feel growing quickly inside.

"I called, because I have agreed to talk…" I said through gritted teeth.

"Fabulous! That's all I'm asking from you, Suze"

"Only if you agree to meet me at the mall" I continued.

Well, if we are going to meet, it was best that we went to a place where there are lots of people… It's definitely a lot safer!

"The mall? Come on Suze, why don't we go out for dinner?"

"No. I _won't_ have it any other way!" I demanded.

"Fine. That's fine with me… You never know, maybe I'll get the chance to save you again…"

That caused cold shivers to run all through my body.

"I doubt that!" I cringed icily.

"Great, then it's a date?"

"No!" I blurted out quickly.

"I'm kidding Suze," He laughed. "Lighten up will yah. I'll meet you around 12:30pm… Unless you want me to pick you up?"

"I'd rather be picked up by the Grim Reaper, death itself. Thanks!"

"Suit yourself. Take care darling… And watch your back"

Man, this guy is a bull-shitting con artist! Before he had the chance to say anything else, I hung up. I don't think I'd be able to cope if he had wished me goodnight… Creepy!

I sighed. What have I done? I thought, resting my head in my hands. What have I _done_?

**What is a Querida? - Saturday Morning**

The next morning, I woke up and pushed all of my evil thoughts about Brett out of my mind… Or at least, in a small dark spot far, far back in my head.

Today is a new, fresh day and it's going to be great! Waterslides and Jesse, what am I waiting for?

Anyway, I finally get the chance to wear my new baby blue, triangle bikini. After I had put my costume on, I slipped into a black mini skirt, a plain t-shirt, and headed down the stairs.

Everyone was scuttling around, packing picnic and swimming gear into the boot of the car. I turned into the kitchen and found that my mother and Jesse, were deep into a conversation… Which apparently involved my name being used.

"Good morning Suzie"

"Good morning Susannah" Both of them said at the same time, awkwardly breaking off their little chat.

"I wasn't interrupting anything was I?" I asked suspiciously, while putting some bread into the toaster.

My mother turned to Jesse, who was smiling and rubbing the back of his neck. I eyed them, waiting for an answer… Which didn't seem to be coming anytime soon.

"I'm going to pack this basket into the car," My mother said, picking it up and leaving the room smiling from me to Jesse.

"Ok, spill it out. I want to know what you were talking about"

I said, grabbing my toast and taking a seat next to Jesse, who casually took a drink of orange juice.

"This juice tastes really good," He smiled, wiping his mouth.

"Jesse" I whined, poking him in the stomach with my index finger.

"You were talking about me, weren't you?"

"Maybe…" He smirked deviously.

I crossed my arms and raised one of my eyebrows.

"I slept well last night. In fact, as Doc had informed me, I slept like a log. It is rather amazing, finally experiencing some proper rest…"

"You're trying to change the subject" I interrupted.

"No, I'm not. I am simply informing you of my nights rest," He said, taking another drink from his glass.

I rolled my eyes, and scraped some peanut butter onto my toast.

"Did you sleep well?"

My face dropped. _Yeah_, I thought, as images of Brett appeared in my mind. _I received a threatening note and I have arranged to meet with the scum of the earth… But I slept great_!

Not that I was going to say that out loud or anything.

"I just wished that…"

I sadly stared down at my toast.

Jesse moved his chair closer to mine, and with his head resting on his hand, he leaned his elbow onto the bench, looking inquisitively at me.

"You wish what?" He asked, tilting my head up to meet his gaze.

My eyes met his, and then flickered past him and out to the lounge room, where my stepfather was heading towards us.

"Last night. I missed you…"

I whispered, before lifting myself off the stool, moving backwards and taking a bite from my toast.

"_Like the deserts miss the rain_…" Jesse enthusiastically sang.

I looked at him weirdly, shocked from his musical outburst. Andy, who was also surprised, was standing near the entrance to the kitchen.

"I didn't know we were holding talent quest tryouts…" He said, looking at Jesse, who blushed ever so slightly.

"I heard it on David's radio this morning…" Jesse softly answered.

"Anyway, we're just about ready to head off. Got your stuff?"

"Yes, Mr Ackerman"

Jesse replied, getting up from the stool, and heading over near me to wash his glass.

As I casually leant against the bench near the sink, with Jesse now standing right beside me, I noticed that he was wearing boardies, like I had informed him. Then my eyes wandered up to his masculine torso, watching his arm movements as he washed the glass.

Whoa, was I looking forward to when he took that shirt off later! Unknowingly, Andy was trying to get my attention away from staring at Jesse.

"Suze, anybody home?" He called from the doorway.

I snapped out of my daze and embarrassingly looked over towards him, shoving the rest of my toast in my mouth as a diversion.

"You ready to go?" He asked, with his mouth growing into a slight grin.

I mumbled with my mouth full and nodded my head. Jesse had now turned around, still standing by my side, and faced my stepfather. Before Andy left the room, he gave Jesse a wink and smiled.

Ok, so he thinks I'm infatuated with the 'exchange student' on the second day of his arrival… No big deal, right?

I sunk back against the sink's edge while still chewing. Jesse, turned his face away from mine, trying to hide the fact that he was about to burst out laughing.

I rolled my eyes and reached for a glass from the cabinet to the left of me. As I closed the glass door, I caught him staring at me in the reflection of the glass. Continuing to go about filling my glass with water, I pretended to not notice his eyes upon me.

"Susannah. I was wondering…" 

He trailed off and ran his hand through his hair, rather nervously. I turned to face him, taking a sip of water, waiting for him to continue. But instead of continuing with what he was about to say, he gave a slight chuckle and closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"What were you going to say?" I asked inquisitively, taking a step towards him.

He looked down at the curious look, which I was displaying on my face. We were now standing only about an inch away from each other.

"Err… um…" He mumbled uncomfortably and took a small step backwards.

"I am glad that your family seem to except me into this household"

I knew that wasn't what he had intended to say, but I wasn't about to pressure him into telling me, whatever it was…

"You're so sweet and polite, Jesse. How could they not like you? … Well, maybe Dopey isn't that thrilled. But that is just because he's jealous…"

Jesse looked out into the lounge room, as if to make sure no one was listening. I finished drinking, washed my glass and placed it in the drying rack.

"Come on let's go, everyone is waiting for us," I said, motioning him to follow me.

I didn't even make it to the kitchen entrance, before Jesse had taken my hand and pulled me back against his body, bringing both of my hands up close to his chest.

"_Whoa_," was what had escaped my mouth, in reaction to his sudden choice of action.

"You have got to stop startling me with your sudden outbursts" I giggled, as I looked up into his beautiful, dark sincere eyes.

"I was wondering if later, we could spend some time alone… Just you and me" 

He insisted, speaking rather quickly until he got to the '_just you and me_' part.

My eyes widened in utter shock. 'Alive Jesse' really isn't holding back with his feelings… I _like_ it!

My eyes darted from each one of his eyes, down to his lips, and then up to his eyes again. His eyes were firmly fixed on mine, waiting for me to reply. I wanted nothing more than to answer by kissing his lips, but instead, Andy had to go and beep the car horn.

Oh come on. Talk about crappy timing!

My initial reaction immediately forced my body to move away from his. Jesse must have been holding his breath, as he suddenly released a sigh of disappointment.

I felt so horrible. I mean, the guy had just put his emotions on the line, only to have them trodden on.

Suddenly, it was almost like an invisible force was pulling me back towards him. Our bodies were now touching, and I lifted my arms up so that they rested on his chest.

"I couldn't imagine _anything_ better, than to spend time with you, Jesse"

A smiled appeared on his face, as he wrapped his arms around the lower part of my back, which brought my pelvis into his. My head rested under his chin, which he lowered onto the top of my head.

"We should be making our way outside…" I said, with my voice being muffled from being pressed against his chest.

After all, I really didn't want to move, but this was the first time that my _pelvis_ was so close and feeling the warmth from his… So it was a little bit, um how do I say it? … _Weird_ …

I think that he was feeling the same, as he gently released his hold on me and moved his hips back a little. His smile warmed and melted me, causing the awkwardness to disappear.

He took my hand and we made our way out to the garage.

I was the last person to get into the seven-seated vehicle. Sleepy and Dopey had already vacated the back seat. Between them, they took up the whole back seat, which was actually designed to fit three people instead of two. Well, they were practically fully-grown men… Just like my Jesse…

Andy and mum were up the front, which left Doc, Jesse and I to squash in the middle row. Doc had moved along to the far side, followed by Jesse, who was in the middle.

I climbed and in shut the door behind me, immediately realising that my skirt had rode up quite a bit, once I had sat down.

I pulled it down quickly, accidentally brushing my hand along the side of Jesse's thigh… but he didn't seem to notice.

As I pulled my seat belt across my chest, I realised that it was going to be a tight squeeze, fitting my hand down there to buckle it… perfect, I smiled to myself.

Jesse caught on to what I was about to do. "Oh here, I'll…"

He reached down and brought the buckle up to meet my seat belt, brushing against my hip in the process. This is even better I thought, buckling my seatbelt in.

Dopey leant forward and brought his head right behind both of mine and Jesse's and whispered… "Don't get too excited, guys"

Jesse straightened up and turned his head to look out the other window on Doc's side.

I on the other hand was pissed off. I turned to look at Dopey, who had a disgusted look on his face. _Shut up! _I mouthed to him.

As we drove off and left the garage, Jesse and I had soon found out that from turning corners, it was hard to avoid our bare legs from rubbing up against each other's... For a dark haired guy, his legs weren't _that_ hairy…

The warm feeling from his thigh against mine, was enough to make me want to unbuckle my seat belt, climb on top of him and kiss his lips.

But I don't think that my family would appreciate me making out with the 'exchange student', especially in the car. So I had to contain all of my urges and keep them to myself.

I looked out the window to try and clear my mind, which was craving and longing for Jesse.

Suddenly I felt a soft, subtle tickling on my right knee. I looked down, and realised that Jesse was rubbing his index finger against it. An excited shiver ran up my spine.

Out the corner of my eye, I noticed that he gave me a quick smile. Then he gently ran his finger higher up my leg, tracing the hem of my skirt.

Ok, down boy! _Not _in the car… _Not_ in front of my brothers…

Secretly I was loving it, though… But all good things unfortunately come to an end. Soon enough, Doc had to go and ruin the moment by sneezing, really loudly.

This startled Jesse and he quickly moved his hand up to scratch his ear, elbowing me hard, in the side of my head.

I yelled out in pain, and raised my hand to my head.

"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry Susannah!"

He immediately held his hands to my head and rubbed it gently. Everyone turned to look at what happened.

"What happened?" My mother demanded quickly.

"Mr Suave here, tried to knock Suze out" Dopey laughed. "_Nice_ one mate"

"It was an accident, I would never hurt my Querida"

He quickly said, soon regretting about calling me _his_ Querida.

"Whoa! I think we're missing something here!" Sleepy blurted out, leaning forward.

"What is a Querida?" Doc asked, not pronouncing it correctly.

Jesse gave me a worried look as he continued to rub my head, sinking embarrassedly in his seat.

"It means that someone here, has a crush on Suze!" Sleepy chuckled, showing enough enthusiasm to last him a lifetime.

We were suddenly bombarded with wolf whistles from the boys. I closed my eyes, trying to block it out. Great, this was all we needed…

"Leave them alone boys, I think it's sweet"

My mother silenced them and told Dopey and Sleepy to sit back in their seats, before smiling at Jesse and I.

"How'd you know Spanish anyway?" Dopey asked Sleepy.

"Oh, I dated this Spanish chick once…" He replied chuckling silently.

_Damn brothers_!

Well, at least that gets me back for elbowing him in the groin last night…

I pressed the side of my face against the window, sighed and watched the road pass by.


	15. Giggles and Screams

The hot sun was beating down on us as we stood in the queue, which eventually led to the entrance of the theme park.

A group of teenage girls who stood behind us had taken their tops off, showing off in their skimpy bikinis. This totally attracted Dopey and Sleepy's attention. The girls of course loved it, and they wasted no time in flirting with them.

I noticed that two girls in particular were checking out Jesse… _My_ Jesse! He didn't even notice though as his back was facing them, listening to Doc ramble on once more.

"He has such a _hot _arse," One girl giggled to one of her friends.

The other girl replied by licking her finger and pretending to reach out and touch him, making a sizzling sound.

I couldn't stand it any more. I'll admit it, I was jealous! Like, I know that Jesse loves me and _only_ me… But I didn't want anyone else thinking otherwise! As much as I wanted to wrap my arms around him and make those girls jealous… I couldn't because my family was right here.

I desperately looked around. Well, Dopey and Sleepy were occupied behind me; my mother and Andy were too busy chatting up the front… That just left Doc… Damn, he was facing my way, in front of Jesse. Well I couldn't actually see him… Jesse's back was in front of me… but I could definitely hear him.

But for once, luck was on my side...

Suddenly some boy in the line next to us called out to Doc; which thank the heavens; made him shut up and turn towards the voice. It was one of his nerdy little smart friends. They immediately started chatting away like there was no tomorrow… Fantastic!

By now, these two girls who were drooling over Jesse had moved closer towards us, leaving my two brothers surrounded by their other friends. They were acting as though I was transparent, while they trying to get a better look at _my_ man.

Stupid, bloody girls! They were definitely younger than me... Probably 13. What were they thinking anyway? As if a twenty-year-old guy is going to be interested in girls who have just hit puberty!

And with that, I decided that I have had enough! I moved my body against the back of Jesse's and wrapped my arms firmly around his waist, to prove that he was taken and he was mine!

Jesse was surprised by my actions and turned his head, to make sure that it was actually me who was holding onto him. He smiled when he saw me and loosened my arms, so that he could turn to face me.

"What brought that on?"

He asked, totally ignoring the skimpy bikini-wearing girls who were right behind me and near my side, gasping. Whether or not they were gasping because they realised that he was taken, or that he was just too _damn_ hot… I didn't know, and I didn't care!

"I love you" I whispered, just loud enough for Jesse and the girls to hear.

He let out a quiet chuckle and gave me a quick hug.

"I love you too," He said, suddenly noticing the staring girls who had quickly turned back around and stepped over to my brothers…

Jesse's eyes followed them and scanned over the other flirty girls behind me. His eyebrows raised up and his mouth slightly parted.

"Jesse?" I asked, concerned about his gawking and tried to get his attention back towards me.

"What on earth…" He started, wrinkling his nose up a little.

"… Are they wearing?"

"That's what girls wear when they go swimming" I whispered, motioning for him to lower his voice.

His eyes fell upon me, noticing the light blue bikini straps which tied up around the back of my neck, above my t-shirt line.

"You are _wearing _one of these?" He asked, particularly concerned.

"Well, yeah… but not as _revealing_ as theirs…"

"I would like to hope not!" He said, taking another look at the girl's costume tops and frowning.

… And my chest actually fills the costume… I felt like saying that, but Jesse would probably freak out or something, and restrict me from taking my shirt off.

By now, the line had decreased and we had reached the entrance to the Wet n Wild theme park. Andy called for Sleepy and Dopey, as they were still hovering back a little, holding up the line from moving forward.

After he had payed for all of us, we made our way through the turnstiles and followed Andy over to a grassy area, where there was an empty table big enough for all of us.

Out the corner of my eye, something suddenly caught my attention. It was the back of a blonde haired guy, who was making his way over to one of the pools. My heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be _him_…could it?

Then someone had run up behind him, making him turn around… I let out a sigh of relief. Phew, it wasn't Brett!

"Susannah," Jesse called out to me.

I continued over to the table that my family had just claimed. Paranoia was certainly taking over me! Relax… I told myself. That creep is _not_ here!

As I dumped my bag onto the table, Jesse looked around at what other people were wearing. Most guys his age seemed to keep their boardies on, while girls seemed to want as much of their body exposed as possible.

He must have been feeling so uncomfortable about all of this... Poor Jesse. I mean, people back in his era would have never been seen looking so… bare.

Jesse sat down on the bench looking up at me while he took his shoes off, watching as I fixed my hair into a ponytail.

My brothers had already headed off in different directions, and Mum and Andy were busy unpacking things and placing them onto the table. Doc went off with his little friend, Dopey was already diving into one of the large pools, and Sleepy… Well I don't know where he went.

Jesse turned his back to me, as I started to take my shirt off, revealing my baby blue triangle bikini top. I placed my shirt on the table next to my bag.

Back in my bedroom this morning, I had decided to pack a pair of boardies, just in case Jesse seemed uncomfortable about my costume… Which he clearly did. And I didn't want him to avoid looking at me all day, just because he didn't want to seem disrespectful or whatever… So before I slipped my skirt off, I decided to put my boardies on.

I purposely chose navy ones to match his. Except, unlike his knee length ones, mine were rather short. Hopefully he wouldn't mind so much… I mean, he must agree that I looked attractive.

Jesse still had his back to me as he removed his shirt. This was the moment that I have been waiting for… I tried not to drool as he lifted his shirt over his head, revealing his broad shoulders and his masculine tanned back.

After his shirt had been completely removed, he turned around to place it near mine, and finally turned to face me. He gave me an awkward glance over, but seemed a little relieved with my choice about wearing the shorts.

"Well, I still don't like the idea of other men letting their eyes fall upon your body, Susannah…"

He said, concentrating on the ground as we walked around the side of the pool.

"… But you do look good"

I let out a short cry of laughter. "So do _you_" I nudged his arm.

I clapped my hands together. "Right, let's go have some fun!" I shouted enthusiastically, running across the warm pavement.

"Hey, wait for me!" Jesse shouted jogging after me, to catch up.

We decided to go on the ordinary water slides first. Seeing as though Jesse wasn't quiet sure about the wilder ones yet.

There was a long queue when we had reached the top. As we waited in the line, I explained and tried to make him feel more confident about the slides. He asked if he could go before me… I think he wanted to prove that he wasn't nervous, so I let him.

After Jesse had disappeared around the first corner, the lifeguard directed me that I could go next. The water was so nice and cool against my skin as I glided around the corners, finally flying out the end and landing in the pool, which waited for me at the bottom.

As I surfaced, wiping the water from my eyes, I could hear Jesse excitedly acting like a little child.

"That was _so_ much fun!" He blurted out, as I swam over to where he was waiting.

"Let's do it again!" He said getting out of the pool, not even waiting for me, and started heading towards the ramp. I got out and followed Jesse's dripping wet body up the slope.

I really doubt that he realises how bloody good he looks… Especially when wet! He ran his hand through his wet hair, causing it to stick up a little. The little drops of water quickly ran down along his nicely tanned body, and dripped onto the ground.

Then he suddenly turned around and faced me, continuing to walk backwards up the ramp.

"How about we race one another this time?" He said, giving me one of his beautiful heart warming smiles.

"But you know I'll win!" I smiled cheekily, as we had finally made our way to the top.

"Oh, don't be so sure of yourself Querida…"

I watched him as he placed his hands on his hips, portraying a confident attitude.

"We will see soon enough…" I said, as it was our turn next.

We positioned ourselves down at the top of each of the slides, and I looked over at Jesse, who gave me a competitive grin.

"Ready, Set, _Go_!" I called out, releasing down the tube with a push and leaving from his sight.

I ended up beating him… But it was really close.

"Hah, I beat you!"

I laughed, waving my arms in victory. He grabbed me by the shoulders and dunked me under the water. Ok, well at least he has gotten over the edginess about my amount of exposed skin.

"Jesse!" I laughed, gasping for air.

"Hey!" A nearby lifeguard called out to Jesse.

He stepped out of the pool, and headed towards the lifeguard who was waving a finger for him explain. So Jesse made up some lame excuse on the spot…

"I am sorry sir, I didn't see her there…"

The man rolled his eyes and told him to behave sensibly, letting him off this time with a cautious gaze.

"Someone got in trouble" I chanted, stepping out of the pool.

Once the lifeguard had turned his back, and walked off, Jesse held his index finger in front of my face, and was just about to say something when… I pushed him with all of my strength into pool, causing a loud tidal splash.

From the side of the pool, I casually squeezed the water from my ponytail, watching him spit water out of his mouth like a fountain.

"I am sorry sir, I didn't see you there" I giggled, making fun of him.

"You are going to pay!" He said in a low voice, moving towards the edge of the pool.

I playfully screamed like a child and ran away from the pool, across the pavement.

"You know that I'm faster!" Jesse yelled, almost catching up to me within seconds.

Soon enough, he caught one of my arms and turned my body around to face him. I started laughing, as I visualised his face when I had pushed him into the pool.

"What is so funny?" He asked, looking into my eyes while wiping the dripping water from his face.

"You are!" I proclaimed, while still giggling.

Then he pulled me closer towards his body, where his bare chest was practically millimetres away from touching mine. This had made me stop giggling and gaze into his sparkling eyes.

It was amazing that even though; complete strangers were passing all around us, laughing and talking… We had managed to block everyone and all the sounds out, and focus only on each other's presence. Then Jesse abruptly broke the silence.

"You made me look like a fool" He softly whispered against my forehead.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking up at him with a sad puppy face.

"Not good enough…"

He quickly lifted me up high, and placed me around his shoulders, carrying me over to another pool.

"Jesse. Nooooooo, put me down" I half laughed, half squealed while wriggling around in his tight grip.

He took me over to the edge of the pool, chuckling devilishly.

"Now it's your turn, Susannah," And with that, he dropped my squirming body down with a splash.

As I surfaced, I found him full heartedly laughing… He slowed down when he noticed a child on the far side of the pool performing a 'bomb'.

A smile appeared on Jesse's face as he took the opportunity to display his ownversion of a _huge_ 'bomb', right beside me in the pool.

Jesse surfaced, watching me wipe the chlorine water from my eyes. I flicked water at his face. I didn't know what to say… Until, at the same time we had both bursted into a deep laughter.

After we had calmed down and floated casually in the cool water next to each other, Jesse turned to me.

"How about we try out one of the more exciting rides?"

"Ooh, are you sure you're up for it?" I asked, daringly.

"I can handle _anything_, as long as you are by my side" He smiled.

"Awe, don't get all heroic on me, Jesse…" I playfully pushed him.

We had eventually found the perfect ride. Well I did, because I knew what it involved from overhearing Doc one time. Two people, one inflatable tube, rough currents, dark tunnels and one _steep _drop!

"You want excitement? Then this one is for you!" I informed Jesse, taking his hand and guiding him up along the path, which eventually would lead to the top.

"So what does this involve?" He asked as we walked.

"I remember Doc explaining about this once… Let's just say that we'll be together, in the dark…" I teased.

Jesse glanced over at me, raising his eyebrows in a kind of excited way. "And you say that _David_ has been on this ride before?"

I giggled and squeezed his hand tighter. "God, I love you Jesse!" 

We reached the top, and there was an instructor who was about to explain the safety rules to a young couple. He asked us to join in so that he didn't have to repeat the speech.

_Blah blah blah_… It was the same stupid rules, which applied for basically every ride.

"Ok, last of all, the heavier person must sit at the back" The man informed us. Well, he mainly looked at the other couple, because they were going first.

"Which means that you girls, will be in between your partner's legs…"

I snickered and looked up at the look on Jesse's face, which was absolutely priceless!

"Are you alright?" The instructor looked at Jesse's facial expression, and then down at me, who was desperately trying not to burst out laughing.

"Did you miss anything? Would you like me to repeat something?" The man asked seriously.

"_Yeah_…" I said, trying to hold back my growing urge to laugh, by biting my lower lip. "I think he missed that _last_ bit!"

As I pointed to Jesse, it caused my outburst of laughter to explode from my mouth. I dropped down and knelt on the ground, holding my stomach, while Jesse finally snapped out of it and noticed me in a hysterical condition on the ground.

The other couple didn't seem to get it… Neither did the instructor. I guess they were more mature than I was… While, Jesse helped me to my feet, the other couple was already seated in the tube, with the raging water lurking beneath them.

"What kind of ride is this?" Jesse asked seriously, intending for only me to hear.

After the man had released his grip on the tube and let the couple go into the darkness, he stood up and turned to face us with a weird look upon his face.

I wiped the tears of laughter from my eyes and cleared my throat. "I told you it was gonna be exciting, didn't I!"

"Are you sure you guys are up for this ride?" The instructor asked.

I quickly turned to Jesse. "Please Jesse, don't answer that…" I pleaded, seeing where he'd go with that comment.

I told the man that we'd be over in a minute, and pulled Jesse aside.

"It's not what you're thinking man…" I whispered, trying not to laugh again.

"Well it sure doesn't sound very appropriate for us to…" He began, lowering his voice to a whisper, only to have me interrupt.

"Sssh, listen to me. Oh this is so embarrassing" I muttered.

"It's just a waterslide Jesse… The choice of words he used has been um, misleading…"

Jesse eyed the man in a cautious way.

"For God's sake Jesse, get your mind off that subject and remember it's a theme park!" I shook his shoulders, trying to make him see some sense.

He finally accepted it and we made our way over to the slide.

The instructor held the inflatable tube while Jesse sat down towards the back. He then instructed me to 'get between his legs'. I didn't want to laugh again; I'd probably have some sort of heart attack before actually beginning the ride.

I felt my bare legs brush up against Jesse's, as I sat back against his body... skin touching skin. Every nerve in my body was alert, and my stomach did a little flop as he wrapped his arms around my stomach.

Before we knew it, we were spiralling down into the darkness and flying around blind corners. As the rough currents pushed our tube violently, I screamed my lungs out, while Jesse was absolutely loving it and yelling out "_Faster!_" in utter joy.

Finally I noticed a bright light in the distance, growing bigger and bigger by the second. I knew the steep drop was waiting for us at the end of this tunnel, so I held even tighter onto Jesse's arms and braced myself. Jesse on the other hand, had no idea what was in store.

I gave one last _almighty_ scream as we were thrown helplessly into the air, falling down into the deep pool, which waited metres below us.

We both gasped for air as we kicked our way to the surface of the water. Jesse lifted himself out of the pool, and bent down to help me.

"_Holy shit_! That was awesome!" I yelled, surprised that I would ever be able to speak again, due to my intense screaming.

"You want to do it again?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, this time you can _get in between my legs_!"

Oh My God! I can't believe I had just said that out loud.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't funny. I take that back…" I awkwardly said turning away from him, only for a minute and then looked back at him.

His eyes met my gaze. "Um, do you want to get something to eat?"

I nodded. "Good idea, I'm starving…"

We slowly made our way back to the table… Neither of us saying a word.


	16. Remaining Fragments

**Remaining Fragments**

After lunch, everyone had scattered off once again. Doc had asked Jesse if he would hang out with him for a while, and he had politely agreed… Even though I could tell that he wanted to be with me. But I was stuffed from eating so much, and I wanted to let my stomach settle before swimming again. So I decided to relax and spend a little time sun baking.

I took my wet boardies off, laid my towel down, got on top of it and let myself fall victim to the sun's rays. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warm sun caress against my skin. Soon enough I had fallen off into a deep sleep…

Suddenly, without warning I was woken up from my sleep, and was covered by a dark shadow. Before I had time to open my eyes and see who it was, I felt a warm body lean down on top of me and embrace me with a kiss.

Ooh, Jesse is getting a little frisky is he? I let my fingers run up and down his back.

The touch of his half-naked body on top of mine felt indescribable… With my eyes still closed, he let the kiss get more passionate, and he started to allow his hands to roam across my chest.

"_Jesse_?" I opened my eyes, as this really wasn't something that he would do… Especially in public. When my eyes met the eyes of whom I thought was Jesse on top of me… I tried to scream, only to have a firm hand press against my mouth.

"_Let me love you, Suze_" I heard, coming from the mouth of the last person in the world I wanted on top of me!

All of a sudden I woke up, breathing heavily, quickly scanning the area to gain a sense of where I was… A large sigh of relief escaped from my mouth and I realised I was alone, on my towel… It was all a dream… A _nightmare_!

I sat up, pulled my sunglasses up on top of my head and suddenly caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar figure that was heading my way. I squinted until my eyes had adjusted to the sudden change of light. The figure stopped once he had reached the end of my towel and lifted his sunglasses from his face.

"Suze, you're gonna burn if you lie around unprotected like that"

My mouth went completely dry, making it impossible to scream.

"Fancy bumping into you here. Seeing you like this…" Brett said, pointing to my body and squatting down on the grass beside me.

I totally freaked out but managed to scramble to my feet, while grabbing my towel and wrapping it quickly around my body.

"W-what are you… I j-just dreamt…" I stuttered, as he stood up and walked towards me, blocking me up against a tree.

"Having dreams about me, are we Suze?" He grinned, while slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

I watched as the figure in front of me took his shirt off, throwing it on the ground. As much as I hated the guy, his body was _really_ hot!

"My family…" I breathed heavily, trying to ignore his chest.

"… Aren't here!" He interrupted, waving an arm around the area. "Why don't we go for a swim? Together".

"Brett, I _hate _you're guts! Why can't you except…"

He interrupted me and covered my mouth gently with his huge hand. "You're so different from all the other girls, Suze. You're so interesting…"

Brett moved his hand away and slowly started to trace the outline of my lips with his fingers. The touch of his fingers against my lips felt good, _really_ good… But I wanted this to be Jesse. Not _Brett_!

So without any second thoughts, I bit down hard on one of his fingers. This action worked well, and resulted in Brett moving his hand away quickly. A lot of cursing soon followed out of his mouth, as he held his finger like a baby. This was the perfect opportunity for me to escape, but I was completely stunned and paralysed from shock… I couldn't believe that he was actually here, right after I had dreamt about him…

Brett turned his gaze back on me and suddenly moved his arms either side of my body, forcing them onto the tree behind me, caging me in place.

"Why wont you give me a chance?" He whispered into my face.

I swallowed and took a quick breath, turning my face sideways so that I didn't have to look at him. "I've given you too many chances already, Brett…"

His face moved closer in towards mine so that I could feel his breath against my cheek.

"… And, I know what you want…" I said, cringing and hoping he'd back off some time soon.

"Then why don't you make it easier for me, Suze?" Brett whispered into my ear.

While tightly gripping onto my towel, I moved one of my hands up to push his face away from mine.

"Because I _don't _want, what you want!"

"Oh, deep down you'd be surprised" He grinned and winked at me, releasing his arms from the tree.

Suddenly without warning, somebody had forcefully grabbed Brett by the shoulder and turned his body away from me.

"Who the _hell_ are you?"

I heard Jesse demand in a deep voice. I hadn't ever heard Jesse speak in a tone like that before; it was actually quite sexy…

Brett threw Jesse's hand off his shoulder and eyed him annoyingly, while scanning his body.

Then he turned sideways to look back at me, as if confused.

"Who's this?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me and pointing at Jesse.

"Hey you! Look at _me_!" Jesse demanded, once again in that sexy voice.

Brett turned back to face Jesse, raising an arm and firmly pointing at him. "You're a little _rude _mate. I'd watch it I were you!"

"Brett. Don't!" I yelled, worried about what was going to happen next.

From hearing me call his name, Brett turned his head towards me. "Don't worry babe, _he_ couldn't hurt me even if he tried!"

At the realisation of who was standing in front of him, Jesse immediately threw a swift, hard punch to Brett's jaw.

**_WHAM_! **Brett stumbled backwards in shock, holding his jaw. I quickly ran over to Jesse's side, while keeping an eye on Brett.

"Querida, are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Jesse desperately asked, holding onto my towel-covered arms and gently shaking me.

I shook my head to let him know I was fine, and turned back to Brett, noticing that he had started laughing.

"Is that the _best _you can do?" He laughed, before opening his mouth and aligning his jaw up with a circular motion.

Jesse's anger grew as he moved towards Brett, about to give him another thump. I quickly stepped in front of him to stop a fight from breaking out.

"Jesse, Please. Just leave it!" I pleaded, looking into his fiery dark eyes. Jesse looked down at my pleading face and started to weaken and give in to my words.

"I didn't know you were into _girls_, Suze?" Brett laughed, walking up behind me.

This really de-railed Jesse's anger! He pushed me aside and hurled himself at Brett. Unfortunately Brett was prepared for him this time, as he ducked below Jesse's angry fist and tackled him around the waist, sending both of them plunging to the ground.

Then Brett thumped Jesse in the chest. NO! Not my Jesse… No one hurts _my_ Jesse!

"_GET OFF HIM!_" I screamed and dropped my towel, running over to try and get Brett off Jesse.

It must have been very entertaining if anyone was watching… This sixteen year old girl, tyring to break up a fight between two large, angry muscular males. As I squeezed my nails into Brett's shoulders, I had unknowingly ended up on top of his back as he crouched over Jesse.

"_Get off him_!" I repeated, almost breaking into tears as I looked down over his shoulder and at Jesse's helpless position.

Jesse was temporarily winded and was currently trying to gain his breath, as Brett had pinned him beneath his 95 kilograms of body weight. Brett's evil grin appeared on his face, and he turned his head to look up at me.

"You're right. I'd much rather have _you _under here…"

Brett said slyly, while looking up at my body, which was rubbing accidentally against his. I quickly realised the position I was in and got the hell away from him.

After hearing those words come out of that perverted bastard's mouth... Jesse had regained his breath and was quick to act. Once I had stepped back, with all of his strength, he managed to push Brett off him. Jesse quickly rolled over and nailed the mongrel to the ground, pounding his head into the grass. He clamped his hands tightly around Brett's neck and blocked his windpipe, which caused Brett's face to grow red as he gasped for air.

"_Jesse_!_ You're gonna kill him_…" I shrieked, stepping back over and grabbing onto Jesse's right arm. I hated the bastard, but I didn't want him to actually die…

But it didn't matter what I said; Brett's life was literally in Jesse's hands… And it was up to him when, and whether or not he wanted to let go…

"You - make - me - _sick_!" Jesse slowly and forcefully hissed into Brett's face, before letting his grip slowly loosen from his neck.

My arms were still firmly grasped onto Jesse's arm as he stood up, while eyeing Brett who was choking and holding his throat. I didn't know what to say, as I kept my eyes fixated on Brett.

Jesse finally stepped away from Brett and guided me away with him. I gulped and managed to look up at Jesse's face, which was still flustered and stern looking. After Jesse and I had stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, his expression slowly changed into a calmer glance.

I slowly opened my mouth to say something. I didn't know what I was going to say… But he gently raised two of his fingers to my lips, causing me to loose every thought about speaking…

Was he going to kiss me? Well I guess we will never know… Before either of us had realised it, Brett had casually stepped up behind me and brought his hands to his hips. Which meant that I was now sandwiched in between two gorgeous looking spunks.

Any onlooking female would absolutely envy the position I was right now in. But fortunately, _this_ girl knew that one was a complete, desperate arsehole!

"_Stay away from her_!"

Jesse threatened, pulling me closer into his embracing arms, causing our bare bodies to touch. I moved my hands up onto Jesse's chest and turned my head sideways, placing it in between my hands.

I knew that Brett was now standing right behind me, as I could feel his toes up against the heels of my feet and his heavy breathing hit the back of my neck. Jesse moved one of his hands protectively over the back of my head, as he stood face to face with Brett… With me, still stuck in the middle.

"Well, this is an _interesting_ situation. Isn't it?" Brett whispered, apparently taking a glance down at my butt...

Man, did I ever regret taking those shorts off! I could feel Jesse's heart beat increase, and his muscles tightened, squeezing me even tighter into his body. Ok Jesse, if you hold me any tighter, I think I'm going to be permanently moulded into you…

"_Keep you're filthy eyes off her_!" Jesse demanded through gritted teeth.

"What's going on here?" A familiar voice spoke up to the left of us.

All three of our heads turned quickly, to find my oldest stepbrother Sleepy, who looking very concerned with this whole situation.

Ok, three topless men concerned about me? When you look at it from another girl's perspective, this predicament was kind of cool… All right, now I'm just getting plain delusional!

"Are you ok, Suze?" Sleepy asked, looking from Jesse to Brett.

I couldn't speak… I was frozen, afraid, and squashed into Jesse's chest.

Brett was the first one who broke the silence by chuckling; starting off quietly and then growing quit loud. I managed to turn my head away from Jesse's hand, to see what the hell Brett was finding so funny.

"Oh, _God_ Suze…" He managed to choke out, while holding his stomach.

"… You sure _have_ been getting around, haven't you!" He looked at me, raising his eyebrows while still chuckling.

"Jake is my _stepbrother_, you idiot! I snapped.

Sleepy's face turned to complete confusion, as he stared at this guy who he had never seen before.

"Are you suggesting that I'm freakin _sleeping_ with her?" Sleepy demanded, pulling a disgusted face.

Brett shrugged his shoulders, looking from Sleepy to Jesse and I.

"Who knows?" He chuckled while looking at Jesse's face, then at Sleepy's.

"I think it's _about time _that you left, Brett!" Jesse said, once again in that sexy low voice of his.

"But things are starting to get interesting…" Brett seemed to whine.

"You heard him, get the _fuck_ out of here!" Sleepy demanded, walking towards him.

Brett's face turned serious, as he narrowed his eyes and rolled them, as if he was bored.

"Whatever…" He said casually, picking up his shirt and finally turning to leave us. "… See you round, Suze" He winked at me.

"_Beat it_!" Sleepy demanded for the last time.

Whoa, I didn't even realise that he actually cared about my welfare… Being my stepbrother and all, how sweet…

Jesse waited until Brett was out of sight, before he finally released his grip, realising that he had been pressing my semi-naked body up against his for ages. He tried to ignore the weird feelings about my amount of exposed skin, and lowered his face to my level, making sure that I was all right.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. I promise that I'll look after you, Susannah" Jesse spoke softly, before cupping his hands around my trembling face.

"Can you really promise that?" I questioned, almost breaking into tears. "… How can you possibly look out for me, every single second of every day?"

Tears started to develop in my eyes as I stared into Jesse's extremely concerned face. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around me again, and rubbed my bare back in a comforting way.

"Hey…" Sleepy gently pushed Jesse on the arm. "Thanks for looking out for her man… You're not so bad after all".

They nodded to each other approvingly, as if saying 'no hard feelings'.

"Who the hell was that?" Sleepy asked, looking around to make sure that Brett hadn't decided to come back.

"You can't tell Mum or Andy about this!" I said pleadingly with tears in my eyes.

Sleepy stared at my face with an intense look. "But, Suze…"

"Please…" I wailed. "I don't want them to know…"

Sleepy looked up at Jesse, who was still rubbing my back. God knows what he was thinking about us… I mean, he thinks that I had only met the guy yesterday, and already we were hitting it off like we've known each other for ages… cough cough.

Sleepy agreed that he'd keep quiet about Brett, if I promised not to squeal on him when he stays out late with girls.

Jesse guided me over to the bench and sat down, reaching his arms out for mine. I sat beside him, avoiding his gaze as my mind was spinning around, sending all of my emotions flying recklessly around in my head.

Should I tell Jesse about the fact that I had organised to meet Brett? Well I sure as hell wasn't going to go any more… But I think Jesse does have the right to know. He's honest to me, he'd understand… Jesse stood up and walked over to pick up my towel, which he brought over and wrapped around my shoulders.

"How _dare _that guy approach you! Especially after what he had tried to do to you…"

Jesse mumbled under his breath as he wrapped one of his arms around my towel-covered shoulders.

"Well, maybe I shouldn't have…" I stopped as soon as I had started to speak... Oh, this wasn't going to go down well!

Jesse suddenly turned his head and moved it closer to mine. "What? What were you about to say?" He demanded quietly, but sternly.

"Jesse I… I called him". Speaking quietly, I mumbling as I lowered my head in shame.

"Pardon me?"

"Um, how do I word this... Last night when he…" I started to speak but Jesse interrupted.

"What do you mean _last night_? Did you call him?"

"Well, sort of… Stop jumping to conclusions!"

Jesse moved his arm from my shoulders and stood up in front of me, looking rather angry.

"Susannah, what is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with _me_? He was the one who threw a threat note onto my balcony!" I protested, looking up at the tall figure standing before me.

Jesse immediately turned around and threw his arms into the air, cursing in Spanish.

"_Nombre de dios, Susannah_! How can you claim that you love me, when you are _never_ honest with me!" Jesse said deeply hurt, while looking as though he was about to break down.

"Jesse…" I started to feel sharp pains, prick my eyes.

"Why _should_ I...How _can_ I..." His fists clamped into tight balls, and his face was full of pain as he held them in front of his chest.

"How can I _believe_ what you say to me? ... For all I know, you probably _want _that guy..." He yelled, before sadly looking at the ground beneath him. "...Instead of_ me_..."

"OMG! Jesse, how could you even _think_ –"

He raised an arm in my direction to shut me up, just as I had bursted into tears. Jesse released a huge sigh of depressed emotions, sat down on the grass and held his head helplessly in his hands... I don't know if he had regretted what he had said to me... Or that he genuinely believed it!

At that point I was mentally _ripping _my heart out and stomping on it screaming...

_Why, why do I keep hurting him_!


	17. Intimate Situations

**Intimate Situations – Saturday Night**

The drive home this afternoon was excruciatingly killing me. Jesse had made sure that he got in the vehicle first, so that Doc had to sit between us. He went out of his way not to be near me, and avoided talking to me at all costs. It made me feel like I had some sort of highly contagious disease or something…

"I'm not hungry!" Was the first thing I had said all evening, since the incident at the pool today.

"But Susie, darling, you have to eat" My mother called, from behind my closed bedroom door.

When I didn't respond she told me that she'd wrap my dinner up and I could heat it up in the microwave later, when I was ready.

I was angry!Angry because Brett had ruined what Jesse and I felt for one another… Angry because he would not stay out of my life… Angry because Jesse would not listen to me… Not only was I angry, I was afraid!Afraid to think about what Brett might do… Afraid to think about loosing Jesse and the feelings that we had shared… I think I was just plain afraid about loosing my mind in general!

Eventually I had to find it in me to compose myself… After I had layed on my bed for about an hour, thinking like a crazy scientist… I finally cracked, realising that I had to sort this mess out.

"Right that's it!" I said out loud. "I _will _make him listen to me, and I don't care what it takes!"

I stormed down the stairs in my grey track pants and an off the shoulder black knit sweater, clasping my fists and getting ready to act tough.

_Where is he_? I thought, as I scanned the living room where Doc and Dopey were noisily playing video games. I noticed that Mum and Andy were out the front on the verandah, spending quality time together… Oh God, what I'd give to spend more 'quality time' with Jesse on the roof…

I sighed heavily, and started to release my fists, leaving them hang limp at my sides. As I headed past the kitchen, I suddenly realised that I could hear the shower running from the main bathroom.

I never really used the bathroom downstairs, but I knew it consisted of two rooms. The larger one had the toilet, the sink, towel rack, mirror etc… And the smaller room obviously contained the shower. So I decided to wait for Jesse in the first room, and closed the door behind me…

As I stood with my back against the towel rack, I folded my arms and casually thought about what I was going to say… Finally the water had stopped running, as I heard the taps being turned off. Unexpectedly there was a knock on the door behind me.

"Is anyone in here?" A familiar voice called, slightly muffled through the wooden door.

Hold on, that sounds a lot like… Oh. _Crap_! 

Before I had time to do anything, the shower door had opened, releasing a thick cloud of steam; seconds before the door behind me had opened, releasing cold air.

"_What are you doing?_"

I heard Sleepy yell in a high-pitched tone, which rang through my left ear. It sounded completely different from the second voice, which hit my right ear…

"Susannah?"

"Oops. Wrong guy…" I said, immediately screwing my face up into a 'shit, I'm sorry' kind of look.

At the sight of Sleepy only having a towel around his waist, it freaked me out, and I felt rather bashful, as I turned my gaze to the empty wall. Jesse, who had just innocently wanted to go to the toilet, didn't quite know what to make out of all of this.

"Um, I'll wait outside…" He said, avoiding me and turning back around.

"Oh please, stay and join the party" Sleepy muttered sarcastically, while carefully bending down and picking up his clothes.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think that _you_ were in there… Damn I'm sorry," I said turning around to face the sink.

Sleepy looked at me in a weird way. "Right, well um, do you mind? I'd like to get dressed"

"Yeah, of course…" I quickly left and closed the door behind me, to find Jesse waiting in the hallway without any expression on his face what so ever.

"Whoa, that was a huge misunderstanding" I exhaled, and leant against the wall opposite Jesse.

He ignored me and stared at the closed wooden door. Suddenly I couldn't help it… The whole situation triggered off something inside me, and I started giggling.

"I really don't see anything funny about this…" He said seriously, folding his arms across his chest.

"It's just… You were ignoring me, so I thought…"

"You thought _that_ would get my attention?" Jesse asked, pointing to the door.

"Well… I thought that you were in there…"

"You were hanging out in the bathroom because you thought that _I_ was in the shower?" He asked, with a look of concern upon his face.

I nodded, feeling ashamed and embarrassed about my actions.

"You're crazy!" He muttered beneath his breath.

"Jesse, we can't keep doing this…" I wailed.

"Yeah absolutely, that's for sure. Next time, Jake might not have a towel"

"I didn't mean that! I'm talking about us, ignoring one another…"

He remained silent, as Sleepy had opened the door and walked off down the hallway.

"Do you even care?" I spat out angrily.

Before Jesse had closed the door, he turned to face me with a serious look upon his face.

"Cuido sobre usted más que cualquier cosa en este mundo"

I stared motionlessly as he closed the wooden door before me, leaving me to interpret his Spanish words. What the hell was that! Did he just curse at me?

On impulse I turned to leave. Flustered and angry, I ran up the stairs and slammed my bedroom door shut, almost knocking it off the hinges. I was so messed up and confused. I threw my body face down onto my bed and started to cry my eyes out. What ever he had said to me, he definitely didn't show any emotion or hesitation about saying it…

My face was deeply buried into my pillow as I cried intensely, blocking out every other sound. I quickly realised that I needed some air, so I turned my head sideways and felt my cheek land in the teary wet patch. That was when I opened my eyes and noticed that someone was sitting on my window seat.

"Jesse?" I choked out in a muffled cry.

He sat there with the soft moonlight hitting his facial features, without even taking a glance over at me and continued to look out of the window. He looked so damn hot in his pair of navy track pants and white 'bonds' fitted t-shirt.

Why was he sitting in my room when I was having a nervous breakdown? He just abused me, and now he's invading my privacy! For the first time, I actually felt intimidated by Jesse's presence. I wanted him near me, but tonight, this was a little queer…

"Please don't push me away…" He whispered against glass of the window.

I noticed that his face twitched a little as he said it. What is he talking about? _He's_ the one who's pushing _me_ away!

"You're hurting me…" I cried, ignoring what he had just said.

"I don't want to hurt you Susannah!"

He blurted turning quickly in my direction, noticing that I wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying. I was too busy studying and observing the teary wet patch on my pillow.

"My pillow is wet…" I sniffed, pulling it from under my head and throwing it on the ground beside my bed.

All I wanted was for him to walk over, embrace me in his arms and tell me that he still loves me… But he didn't, he sat silently on the window seat… which seemed like miles away from me. A sudden urge ran through my stomach; I felt that I was going to throw up. I threw my body out of bed and managed to make it in time to the sink, before I hurled.

Well, as much as this was totally disgusting, it managed to get Jesse's attention. He ran over to the bathroom doorway, skidded, and then grasped onto the side of the wooden door frame to stable himself.

"Susannah? _Dios_! Are you alright?"

I ran the tap full blast, and washed my face. Jesse stepped into my small bathroom and reached for a hand towel. As Jesse leant over, he accidentally brushed up against my arm, hesitating before handing the towel to me.

"Thanks" I mumbled, accepting the towel and wiping my face with it.

"I love you"

What? My hands froze on the spot, covering my face completely with the hand towel. For a moment I couldn't even think straight, but as I slowly lowered the towel… My eyes met and locked with his, causing every weird feeling to suddenly disappear.

"I love you, Susannah" He repeated sincerely, looking straight into my eyes. 

My knees started to buckle beneath my weight and I felt something stir in the pit of my stomach. I suddenly rushed past him and headed over to my dressing table, taking the hand towel with me.

Jesse took a few sudden steps towards me. "Susannah, what is wrong?"

"_What is wrong_?" I said in a high pitched voice. "You just can't go around _hating_ me one minute and then _loving_ me the next… That's what's wrong!"

"I never _hated _you" Jesse looked over at me with his mouth opened in protest, and a wrinkle developed between his eyebrows. "I could _never_ hate you… Susannah"

A burst of laughter escaped from my mouth as I turned to face my dresser.

"Yeah, well that sure explains the whole 'ignoring and Spanish abusing' doesn't it…" I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

"_Spanish abusing_?" He dared to chuckle, moving towards me and closing the space between us. "I think it's about time that you took some Spanish interpreting lessons"

I looked up into my mirror and stared at his reflection, as he stood behind me with a slight smile on his face. Why can't I stay mad at him? I hate how his smile weakens me… He suddenly bent down and picked up my soggy pillow, eyeing it sadly. I continued to look at his reflection in the mirror, as he moved over to the top of my bed and carefully placed the pillow neatly down on top of the covers.

"I am sorry that I made you cry, Susannah... I just - just needed some space..."

"What did you say to me?" I demanded, rather rudely.

Jesse, who was walking back over towards me, stopped in his tracks as if I had magically frozen him, while looking hurt from my abbrupt rudeness.

"... That I needed space, and -"

"Before you slammed the door in my face!" I interrupted rudely once again.

"I didn't _slam_ the door in your face" He argued.

"Whatever" I waved the hand towel up in the air, as my arm flicked up. "Just…What did you say? Go on... Enlighten me!"

"Ok" He stalled, shuffling his weight to his other foot and crossing his arms across his chest, as his smile grew slightly wider.  
"I had said… Just before I 'slammed' the door - "

"Yeah, ok smart arse! You didn't _slam_ the door. Don't push your luck…" I said impatiently.

"Ooh, so I'm a _smart_ arse hey?" He mocked, as his smile now reached it's full potential. 

"Did you hear what I had just said?" I growled as my temper started growing. I turned around and threw the hand towel at him, before lifelessly plonking myself down onto my swivel chair.

"I said that… I care about you more than _anything _else in this world" Jesse said after he had caught the flying projectile..

Immediately, I spun around on the chair and Jesse took a step closer, kneeling down before me. "Your life, and happiness is far more important to me than my own…" He whispered.

My mouth opened, but nothing came out… I should have said something, but before I had the chance to even 'get a grip', he started blurting everything out… Very emotionally, for a guy!

"It has been so crazy, Susannah! You can't begin understand how it feels… To try so hard to adjust to this modern society, and being able to fit in" Jesse stood up, leaving me and started to pace across my room. "I _shouldn't_ have treated you the way that I had… I let you down!"

"Jesse, no… I should have told you about the note…" I insisted.

He took a quick glance in my direction, and then sat down on the edge of my bed, with his hands hanging loosely down either side of his thighs.

"I feel _terrible_," Jesse said, bending over and bringing his hands to cover his face. "I mean, just the other day I found out that I was _alive_…" His voice was so muffled, that I could barely make out what he was saying.

"And when that guy…" Jesse raised back up, now full of anger, and looked towards the window. "He just caused all my emotions to collide."

"Jesse…" I started to say something, but I caught a glimpse of water dwelling in his eyes.

"… Every nerve in my body started _boiling_ with the thought of what he wanted to do to you, and I was so emotionally distraught that I … That I actually…"

By this time, I had moved over to where he was, and sat beside him on the bed, crossing my legs.

"Lost the plot?" I offered, rubbing my hand along his back, trying to comfort him.

"How can I _possibly_ make it up to you?" He asked, taking my hands abruptly and holding them tight.

"I just want things to go back to the way they were between us…" I whispered.

"Me too… I'm sorry that I have a few problems when it comes to listening. I don't mean to jump to conclusions… "

"Hey, no one is perfect Jesse. I understand. I mean, look at me… I have honesty issues"

Jesse managed to let a chuckle escape. "Yeah, I'm looking at you…" He lifted two fingers underneath my chin and raised my face to meet his.

"You know that I can't bare to loose you. You're the _only _man I could ever love" I said softly gazing into his beautiful, longing eyes.

"And you better believe me when I say that I feel the same way, Susannah! I apologise for everything that I have done to upset you, Querida… I only hope that you can forgive me"

"Only if you promise to forgive me" I smiled, loving the fact that he had called me Querida once more.

Then he leaned in closer, so that his lips brushed intriguingly close past my ear. "… And _how _would you like me to express my forgiveness?" He whispered.

It was so hard for me to suppress a squeal of delight, as his warm breath shivered across my skin.

"Isn't that _obvious_?" I smiled, slowly tilting my head to the side, waiting for his lips to meet mine, while anticipation ran quickly through my body.

"You're right, it is!" Jesse said, showing sudden enthusiasm.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the touch of Jesse's lips against mine... Except that wasn't apparently what he had in mind! He jumped off the bed and bounced excitedly over to where his boring history book was positioned.

"Oh you have _got_ to be joking!" I demanded, as he picked up the bulky hard covered book and started to carefully flip through the old pages.

"No. I'm quite serious, Susannah" Jesse said, while raising his eyes to look at my disappointed face. "When Adam took me shopping, we brought one of those scratch ticket things each… You know where you scratch and you can win money?"

I nodded to let him know that I knew what he meant.

"Well, I won some money!" He smiled, pulling something out from one of the thick pages.

"Are you serious? How much?" I beamed, full of excitement.

"Enough to buy you this…"Jesse grinned, and held out a small velvet pouch, reaching for my hand and placing it softly in my palm.

"Awe Jesse, this was your money!…" I exclaimed.

"No, I wanted to get you something special... And this symbolises something which is beautiful and delicate… Just like you are" Jesse said, shifting his body closer and running a hand through my hair, as I stared down in awe at the small velvet pouch within my palm.

"Open it" He urged softly, looking down at my eyelashes.

I slowly turned the pink pouch upside down and carefully pulled out what Jesse had bought me. A sudden inhale of air was taken in as I gasped in delight at the stunning silver necklace with a charmed silver rose attached, which was covered with tiny sparkling pink stones around the petals.

"A rose…" I choked out, trying to fight back the urge to burst into tears.

"Do you like it?" Jesse asked, nervously running a hand through his hair. "Um, it's not expensive or anything…"

As I rubbed my fingers gently over the pale pink gemmed rose, a single tear escaped from within and rolled down my check.

"It's beautiful…" I said softly, staring down at the most precious gift anyone had ever bought me. When my head raised up to look into his contented eyes, my tears built up, causing temporary blurriness.

"It's beautiful. I love it!" I blurted into his face.

He let out a quiet laugh of amusement, as he gently wiped my flowing tears away.

"Would you like me to put it on for you?"

I nodded and handed him the necklace. Jesse moved even closer so that our bodies were touching, and steadily placed the necklace around my neck, slowly moving my hair out of the way.

His manly hands moved around the back of my neck, tickling me with the touch his fingers and the cool feeling of the chain against my skin. I stood frozen at the feel of Jesse's cheek brushing up against mine, as he fumbled with trying to clip the chain together. A slight giggle emerged from my mouth, causing me to move a little.

"Stopped giggling, I'm loosing concentration" He smiled, trying to keep me still.

He is loosing concentration by my giggles? … Hmm then I wonder how he will react to this… And with that, my arms made their way around Jesse's waist and 'accidentally' found their way underneath his fitted shirt. Jesse froze from his 'concentrating mission' as I slowly rubbed my hands underneath his shirt, creeping higher, against his smooth bare back, pulling him tightly against my body.

Ok, well two forthcoming responses were soon discovered, and boy did I ever get some feedback from my actions.

Firstly, I think that Jesse had displayed quite perfectly what he thought about my decision to get intimate... And it didn't involve verbal communication... He had experienced a little, um excitement and tightening of his, ah... lower region… He suddenly pulled away from my body looking rather flushed, as he realised that I had felt it…

"I – I…" Jesse was too embarrassed to grasp a hold of what to say, as he turned around and looked at the ground, with his face flashing red.

A strong feeling swept through my stomach, and I must admit that my face heated up, as I bit my lower lip. This was _definitely_ awkward moment number one! _Right _at the top of the list!

After a few attempts of trying to say something… I decided to give up and cough instead.

"Um… How about you put it on?" He suggested, nervously handing me the necklace.

Secondly, I should have know that every intimate situation that we encounter, someone or something _always_ has to interrupt us…

"Who's putting _what_, on _who_?"

I actually wasn't sure if that was a _question _or a statement… My body seemed to turn into jelly while shrivelling and sinking into a black hole, but somehow I managed to turn around to face our intruder…

"It's _not _what it sounds like... I can explain!" I managed to choke out...


	18. Misconceptions

My eyes casted over the masculine, no good, interfering intruder, who stood with his arms folded casually over his chest. A smile started to appear on his smug, inquisitive face, as he gazed at me and then scanned over onto Jesse.

"Something is definitely going on here, isn't it? Come on, you can tell me, Suze"

"Oh Please! This is totally none of you're business! But I can explain…"

"Well, better start explaining" The intruder urged, looking amused with the whole situation he had stumbled across.

"First of all, that's _not_ what he meant, Sleepy!" I angrily hissed.

"Whatever… I think that it seems pretty clear what he meant, to me" Sleepy laughed.

"He was talking about _this!_" I said, walking over to where he was leaning against the door frame. I outstretched my arm and opened my fist, to show him the gorgeous, silver necklace.

"Ooh, nice one mate. Is it tradition to _spoil_ girls who you've only just met?" He asked, teasing Jesse, who was standing there looking as though he was going to die from pure embarrassment.

"Hey, _why_ did you barge into my room without knocking?" I demanded, pushing his shoulder against the wall.

"Dad wanted me to get you!" He sneered, and then pointed to Jesse, while keeping his eyes on me. "And _him_…" 

"What for?" I asked, changing my tone to one that was full of concern.

"How should I know?" Sleepy answered rudely.

"Ok, well thanks" I said, hinting for him to leave. "Oh, and Jake… If you _dare_ say a word about this to Dopey, I will kill you!"

"Brad's way too 'dopey' and self absorbed to even notice anyway... But can I tell your Mum?" He asked, giving me a sly grin.

"If you even dare to think about it…" I warned, raising a stern finger in front of his face. 

"It's ok, Suze. Chill!" He laughed, looking over his shoulder as he headed to the staircase.

I closed the door, and left my hand up against the handle, pressing my body up against the wooden door. I didn't really want to turn around to face Jesse… What was I going to say? I held my hand out and studied the beautiful necklace once more.

"Susannah…" Jesse choked, clearing his throat.

"Jesse…" I interrupted, spinning around to face him, while keeping my eyes on the necklace. "I… I really love this, thank you"

After I had spoken, I looked up in his direction. Jesse was biting his bottom lip in angst, twiddling his fingers nervously, and was also avoiding my gaze. I took a few steps towards Jesse, placing the necklace on my dresser and cafeully moved in front of him. 

"Jesse, it's ok..." I said in all seriousness, trying to ease the pain of him from feeling guilty or embarrassed. "Don't dwell on it"

Jesse slowly raised his eyes and looked at my expressionless face. "I feel as though I had disrespected you. It was humiliating…"

"_It_ was normal" I said slowly, taking his fumbling hands and holding them in my own. A tiny smile spread across my face. "It felt good…"

He intensely stared into my eyes, not showing me any sign about what he was thinking. I raised my pincer fingers to his right check bone and gave his skin a slight squeeze.

"Smile, will yah. You're only human, Jesse"

His lips started to draw upwards, giving me a slight smile. "I am human… An alive one at that"

I gave a quiet chuckle and roughly pinched his arm, to give him a sense of reality.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" He moaned, rubbing the spot where I had pinched.

"Just checking" I shrugged, while laughing. "Come on, Andy's waiting for us"

We made our way down the staircase and through the lounge room, where Dopey and Doc were still playing their video game. Mum and Andy also remained where I had last seen them, which was outside on the verandah.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked cheerfully, pulling up two white-coated garden chairs, and placing them opposite to where they were seated on the double seat.

"Thank you, Susannah" Jesse smiled politely, sitting on one of the seats that I offered, and waited casually for what my parents had to say.

I turned my chair around backwards, sat on it, and rested my arms upon the top of the cold metal. My parents looked at each other in a suspicious way, and then smiled over at the both of us. Then my father suddenly spoke up, looking towards Jesse.

"It's been a pleasure, having you stay with us, Jesse. I hope that you are enjoying your visit, and that the boys haven't been giving you a hard time"

"Thank you, Mr Ackerman. Yes, I am very grateful that you have all made me feel welcome within your household… And your sons are all very, unique"

I glanced sideways, over at Jesse, who had a look of complete satisfaction upon his face, regarding his answer. My father gave a slight chuckle, and my mum beamed with delight, as if she was planning out our wedding or something… Where was this little chat heading?

"Suzie, darling. Your stepfather and I were thinking that it would be a great idea if you guys took something up" My mother said, smiling from me to Jesse.

"Took something up? What, you mean like a hobby or something?" I asked, shuffling uncomfortably on the chair.

"Yes. I'm sure that Jesse would like to learn something new, while he's staying in Carmel…" Andy said, directing his words towards Jesse, who looked as uncomfortable as I was feeling right now.

"Ah, yes Mr Ackerman… It would be nice to learn something new" Jesse replied, while slowly taking a glance in my direction.

"Well, what do you have in mind?" I asked, ignoring Jesse's gaze and concentrating on my parents.

My mother and Andy exchanged looks, then turned back to face me. "I don't know, we'll leave that up to you guys…" Andy smiled.

I raised my eyebrows and turned to look at Jesse, who just shrugged his shoulders at me. They actually wanted Jesse and I to spend time together? … _Woohoo_! Heaps _Cool_! As my blank facial expression steadily bored into Jesse's, I could feel little fireworks erupting inside my stomach. No thanks to my mother though, she had to go and ruin my excitement…

"Well, come on? Have you got any ideas Suzie? It can be anything… Sailing, horse riding, roller blading, bowling, golf…"

"Golf?" I blurted out in a sarcastic laugh, breaking my eye contact with Jesse.

"It was just a suggestion…" Mum sighed.

I rolled my eyes and leant forward against the chair's white-coated, metal back, flopping my arms helplessly over the top.

"I don't know… Roller blading doesn't sound too bad…" I muttered.

Well, roller blading seemed to be rather popular in Carmel, and hey, even though I've never tried it before… There's a first for everything!

"Ooh, that's a great choice" My mother squealed in delight. "But you'd better make sure that you guys wear a helmet and knee protectors!"

"Yes, Mum" I said, rolling my eyes again and getting up from the chair.

Jesse followed my lead, and returned our chairs back from where I had gotten them. I opened the front door and quickly escaped away from my parent's sight.

"Susannah?" I heard Jesse call from behind me, jogging to catch up, as I avoided walking through the noisy lounge room and headed into the dining room.

"How _weird_ was that! Totally uncalled for…" I said, as a tiny snort of amusement escaped from my mouth.

"Um, Querida" He slightly chuckled, apparently finding my snorting funny. "What exactly is… Roller blading?"

"Oh, well you get these specially designed shoes right, and they have a single line of rubber wheels attached to the soles…" I stopped there, as Jesse seemed to be completely lost, as his facial features clearly expressed a sense of confusion.

"_Wheels..._ On _shoes_?" He asked slowly, making sure he had heard correctly.

"Yep, that's right" I positively assured him, while patting his upper arm.

"But isn't that a little dangerous?" He asked, frowning a little.

"Hah! Don't worry, I'll be there for yah darling!" I laughed with enthusiasm, noticing that he was taken aback with my extreme outburst, and the fact about calling him darling seemed to surprise him.

"Darling, hey?" Jesse grinned, relaxing a little and taking a step toward me. "And have you, _my darling_, actually ever roller bladed before?" He asked, leaning his weight against the table, closing the gap between us.

I coughed and bit my lower lip, while smiling childishly up at the ceiling. "Err, yea… No"

"Oh, well that's reassuring isn't it!" Jesse ridiculed, but at the same time, sent me one of his sexy smiles.

"Ah, Shut up" I laughed, while playfully slapping his chest. "We can learn together… That's the point isn't it? And anyway, what's with you and the whole… _'Ah, yes Mr Ackerman. It would be nice to learn something new'_ attitude". I pretended to solute, with my right arm pressed against my forehead.

He laughed hard, while holding his stomach with one hand, and pushing my shoulder with the other. "Don't be cheeky… I was just being polite to you stepfather"

Jesse said, lowering his voice after he heard Dopey yell something abusive from the lounge room. I gathered that Doc was beating him with that stupid game…

"_Brad_! That's it, you two have been playing for hours. Turn that game off!" Andy yelled, storming into the house.

Jesse and I exchanged a look of '_Ah hah,_ _sucked in Dopey_'.

"It's getting late…" I sighed, pulling at a loose thread of material near the bottom of my top. "I think I might get some rest"

Jesse cleared his throat, and pushed back a few strands of hair from his forehead. "Yeah, of course… And tomorrow, we shall check out these shoes with wheels, hey?"

"Yes, Jesse. You'll be able to get the privilege to discover one of our modern day activities" I giggled, running my hands down his fore arms.

And with that, he leant forward and gave me a delicate, prolonged kiss on my forehead. It was sweet, but far out! I wanted to kiss his lips damn it! He finally drew his lips away from my skin, and looked deep into my eyes.

"Good night, Querida"

Awe, don't I get to kiss him? It's a shame that I'm not tall enough to kiss his forehead… Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for a patch of skin, which is lower… Hah! I smiled and slowly brought my face closer to his… Jesse didn't seem to decline, and he slowly moved in. _Finally_!

Our lips gently pressed up against one another's, moulding perfectly… … _Five Seconds_! That's all it took before I heard Doc's voice coming this way. We immediately broke it off and stepped apart.

"Jesse, I'm gonna get some shut eye. You coming?" Doc asked, not even realising that he had interrupted us!

"Yeah, I was just um, saying good night to Susannah…" Jesse said awkwardly.

"Yep, and we've done that. So I'm out of here," I said quickly, brushing past Jesse's body. "See you guys tomorrow"

They watched me as I dashed out of the room, fleeing with excitement. We kissed! We _kissed_! I sang happily inside my head.

* * *

**Later that Night**

It was around 1.15am, when a rustling sound from outside suddenly woke me from my sleep. A rush of fear spread throughout my body as I gripped onto my quilt cover nervously. I whispered Jesse's name, in the hope that he would some how 'telepathically' hear my cry for help. My hands shot up to cover my ears, as I rolled over and tried to ignore what, or _who_ was outside in the yard.

_I'm on the second level; he can't get me… I'm on the second level… _I repeated in my head continuously. Just as my breathing had slowly calmed down, thanks to my mind, which actually believed my comforting words. Suddenly, a loud snapping sound, possibly from stepping on a stick, brought me back to my frenzied state of mind.

"_Jesse_" I shrieked, jumping out of my bed and swiftly rushing towards Doc's bedroom.

Lucky for me, Jesse slept on the bottom bunk. I think that I would have experienced difficulties trying to wake him if he were up the top... I crouched down on the ground beside his mattress, and anxiously extended an arm to touch his broad shoulder. As much as I was trembling with the idea of Brett lingering outside… A smile crept across my face when seeing Jesse peacefully in slumber.

His lips were ever so slightly parted as he inhaled and exhaled peacefully… His long dark eyelashes appeared as though they were locking his eyes shut. My arm slowly moved down across to his chest, feeling the rhythm of his breathing pattern, and the soft beat of his heart. At that moment, all of my fears seemed to be swept away as though his presence had calmed me…

"Jesse" I whispered, gently caressing his smooth cheek with my fingers.

Desperation filled my body, as I so deeply wanted to feel that desiring kiss once again… Especially after that little incident which occurred earlier. I knew he wanted to return the feeling…

I couldn't contain myself any longer… Jesse was just too damn hot for me to handle. Slowly, I leant over his body and closed the space between our faces. Just as I was about to press my lips up against his… Jesse's eyes twitched a little and his mouth parted some more, turning upward into a small grin. Instinctively, I jolted back up and looked down at him as he slowly gained consciousness about where he was.

"_Nombre de Dios_" He whispered, gasping short breaths of air, and holding a hand to his chest as he realised it was me.

I immediately grabbed his hand, forgetting about the 'almost kiss' that could have happened, and remembered about the movement outside my window. I stood up, pulling him into a sitting position.

"_Whoa_, Querida…What are you doing?" Jesse whispered, as the soft moonlight swept across his clearly startled and confused face.

"Please. I _need_ you" I mouthed, sounding full of desperation as I tugged on his arm.

Jesse hesitated for a minute, frowning in disapproval as he looked up at my pleading face. … I think that I was giving him the wrong impression...

"Susannah, it's 1.30 in the morning…" He complained, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

But he realised from the look on my face, that I wasn't going to leave, so he finally got out of bed and followed me into my room.

"I _had_ to wake you…" I whispered, giving him a soft push through the doorway.

"Don't you think this is inappropriate? Especially after…" Jesse moaned, as I quickly closed the door behind him.

"Ssshhhhh" I hissed, motioning for him to be quiet by placing a finger to my lips. "Sorry, but this _can't_ wait. Come on!" I took his hand and dragged him across the bedroom and over to the window.

"It can't?" Jesse asked, nervously scratching his jaw line.

"_No_. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't sleep… _He's out there_…"

Jesse finally realised the fear in my voice, which was quickly growing inside of me, and he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Stay there" Jesse said in a deep voice, forcing the window open and climbing out onto the balcony, letting a cold rush of air burst into my room.

Just as Jesse had leant over the railing to get a better look, something had jumped through the window behind him, and hurled itself in my direction. A shrill, short scream escaped my mouth as my hands flew up to protectively cover my face.

"_Spike_!" Jesse chirped, turning around and climbing back into my bedroom. "Come here, you cheeky cat" He said in a babyish voice while bending down and scooping the fat mangy creature up into his arms. Jesse looked over at me, whose hands still slightly remained over my face.

"Why are you scaring Sussanah?" He chuckled to Spike, as if he thought that the cat would reply.

"_Yes,_ Jesse…" I mocked him sarcastically, pretending to speak for the cat. "How did you _guess_ that I wanted to rustle bushes and pretend to be a stalker?"

He gave me a look of disapproval, and placed that cat down on the ground.

"Well, I guess that I too, jump to conclusions…" I said looking at Spike, who ran over to the window seat, making himself comfortable to settle down for the night.

"Are you going to be ok?" Jesse asked, walking over to rub my arms, carefully avoiding my exposed shoulders.

I nodded, and headed over to my bed. "I was just shaken up… I'll be fine"

"Alright…" He said, slowly running a hand through his thick hair, and letting it slide down the back of his neck. "Well, if you're going to be ok, then… I guess I should be leaving…"

He seemed to stall, waiting for me to say something… Except I didn't. I sat there on my bed, looking blackly up at him. Jesse nodded and slowly turned to leave, he made it to the door and outstretched an arm towards the handle.

"Jesse, wait" I whispered.

Jesse had turned around so fast, that I thought he was going to fall over his own two feet. It was as if he had expected me to stop him.

"Yes, Querida?" He spoke enthusiastically.

How was I going to say this without sound too desperate? Oh well, here goes nothing. "Would you… Err, could you please, um…"

"... Stay with you?" He finished, realising that I was struggling for words.

I nodded. "Do you mind?"

Jesse gave a slight chuckle and walked over to the end of my bed.

"Susannah. I've been occupying your room for quite a while now, remember?"

"Yeah but it's different, now… Now that you're alive" I said, tilting my head down so that he wouldn't notice me blush.

"I love you, Susannah. But just because I am now alive, that doesn't mean that I want to rush you into… you know… Even if earlier, when I displayed a rather, um…"

"Yeah, ok Jesse" I cut him off.

I definitely kept my head low, as my face blushed even more. His words kind of comforted me, yet they disappointed me at the same time… I took a deep breath and slowly looked up towards his smiling face, and returned a smile.

"Jesse, I like you just the way you are…" Damn! I thought my brain had intended to say '_love_', but no, my mouth took control and said '_like_'.

There was a moment there, as we smiled at each other, where I considered about asking him to join me in the bed… But I didn't want to impose on him. You know, force him into an uncomfortable situation or anything. It was rather chilly tonight and hey; I didn't want him to freeze! It's not that I wanted to cuddle up next to him or anything… winks.

But I was too slow. Jesse had answered my question for me, as he headed over to the window seat where Spike was curled up. My eyes burned into him as he spread out across the seat, lifting the cat onto his lap and affectionately started patting him. After a few seconds, Jesse had noticed my intense gawking and looked back at me a little uncomfortably, while raising his eyebrows.

"Susannah, are you alright?" He asked carefully, looking as though he had half expected me to explode some abusive, vulgar, or irreverent language at him.

Without any control over my own body, my eyes moved down to Spike, and my nose scrunched up in a cheesed off way. A large hand suddenly appeared in front of the cat; protectively shielding it's face. I finally gained control over my actions and broke off the gaze by shaking my head.

"If looks could kill… Spike wouldn't stand a chance," Jesse said seriously, before a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

My body helplessly fell back onto the mattress and I stared up at the empty ceiling. "I just… Just thought that maybe…" I stopped talking and sighed loudly, rolling over onto my side, turning my back to Jesse.

"What?" He provoked inquisitively.

"Never mind!" I blurted, before sniffing loudly.

"Susannah? Have I done something to upset you?"

"No" I mumbled under my breath, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Is it the cat?"

"No… Just, _drop_ it!" I said a little forcefully.

"Drop the _cat_?"

I rolled over the other way to face him, appalled by his words. My mouth was opened, ready to say 'Are you stupid or something'… But I managed to hold back and instead of rudely abusing him, I snorted and laughed hysterically.

"Are you laughing at _me_?" He asked emphatically, without finding anything hilarious about dropping Spike.

"Oh Jesse, sometimes you can be so… Silly!" I said between uncontrollable laughter.

"Silly?" He questioned, placing the cat on the ground and standing up. "You think that _I'm_ silly?" He asked in pure astonishment.

"_Yeah_" I blurted out, tossing around beneath my covers, as Jesse had found it amusing to tickle me while I was down.

Jesse suddenly stopped tickling me, and sat down on the bed against the curve of my waist. He looked down at me, who was slowly calming down from the sudden attempt of being tickled to death.

"For your information I think that you too, are rather _silly_"

"Oh really?" I giggled, before coming to a stop. "I bet you can't think of _one_ thing!"

"Yes I can" Jesse laughed, as if I was an object of ridicule; a laughing stock. "Where would you like me to begin?"

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Yeah? Well, I'd like to hear what you've got in your mind"

"Ok" He chuckled.

"Ok" I repeated, lying back and waiting to be highly amused.

"Well for one thing, at least I can resist the temptation to drool, when ever you walk by…"

"_What_!" I shrieked while sitting up abruptly, almost bumping my head into his. 'I do _not _drool when I look at you!"

Jesse raised an eyebrow and moved his head back a little, as he noticed how close we were now positioned.

"Then what's that?" He grinned, pointing to my chin.

I raised a finger to where he was pointing and felt a small droplet of spit.

"_That_ came from when I laughed…" I said embarrassedly defeated, lying back down to hide my blushing.

"Hmmm…" Jesse grinned, while leaning over me to catch a glimpse at my embarrassment. "Are you sure?"

I turned my face away from his cheeky grin, just as my stomach decided to growl really loudly. This caused him to sit back up straightly, forming a statue position.

"Wow, you can use you stomach to do the talking"

"I'm hungry, I haven't had dinner, remember?"

Jesse nodded, releasing his stiff posture. "I wouldn't mind a drink, actually… _Waiter_!" He called, gesturing as though he was in a restaurant, calling for the waiter's attention.

"Ok, let's go" I laughed hopping out of bed, adjusting the neckline of my 'off the shoulder' top, before Jesse could notice too much skin and freak out.

"_Now_? Are you serious?" He asked, looking surprised at my decision, and noticing me fix my top.

"Mum said that I could eat dinner when I was ready… And I'm ready!"


	19. Pigging Out

**

* * *

**I almost made it to the door, when Jesse stepped in front of me, blocking my only point of exit. 

"But… What if we get caught?" He complained, watching me rub my growling stomach.

"Look, _goody-two-shoes_, no one's forcing you to break any rules" I said casually, while placing my hands on my hips.

"Goody-two-shoes?" Jesse asked, copying me by also placing his hands on his hips, and peering down at my smug face. "What is _that _supposed to mean?"

I gave a little chuckle. "I _love_ it when you're completely clueless!"

Jesse narrowed his eyes at me, but remained in the same postural position as me.

"How about… If you tell me what that means, then I shall accompany you to the kitchen"

My chuckle deepened, followed by a short snort when I said, "You're _bribing_ me?"

However, he didn't seem to find our conversation as funny as I apparently did…

"Ok, ok… Well, I guess you could say, that a 'goody-two-shoes' is someone who focuses on extreme good behaviour in order to _impress_ others"

Jesse's mouth opened, as if he was about to try and say something in his defence… I just grinned and pushed past him, to reach for the door handle.

"Don't worry Jesse…" I said, turning back to look at him while slightly opening the door. "You don't need to impress me!" I winked, before heading out into the hallway.

Jesse smiled and followed me down the staircase, treading lightly on our tiptoes across the carpet, as we tried not to make the steps creak. But I knew that the last three steps always creaked when stepped on. I stopped on the forth and turned back to face Jesse.

"These last three creak" I whispered, as he moved onto the same step that I was on, causing our arms and hipbones to touch.

"Let's do it together…" He whispered back, as his leg brushed unintentionally up against mine, when he shifted his weight.

The soft warm sensation from his breath lingered on my cheek, and I had to drag myself out of it, to manage to agree. I couldn't let him notice that I was growing weak at the knees, as we squeezed side by side in the narrow stairway. We held hands, outstretched our left legs at the same time, and slowly placed them onto the step. _CREAK…_

"Shit, go back!" I whispered, trying hard not to giggle.

"I say we just make a run for it" Jesse suggested.

I shook my head to disagree, and a slight giggle escaped though my forced lips.

"Sshhhh" Jesse whispered, turning to face me, and giving my hand a little squeeze.

"I've got an idea… Stay there" And with that, Jesse let go of my hand, placing one on the railing and the other hand on the wall.

"Where else am I gonna go?" I smirked while watching in utter amusement, as he carefully glided his long leg past the three steps, and onto the floor, letting the rest of his body follow. I held my hands to my mouth and gave a little snort.

"You have a habit of doing that, don't you?" Jesse said, placing his hands on his hips, motioning to the little snort sounds that I make.

"Just don't stand there looking all macho, rescue me!" I pleaded, holding back my oncoming giggle.

He leant forward and held out his arms to collect me in his grasp. I kind of got a little excited and jumped into him, causing him to stumble back… Well, at least he caught me! Jesse held my body close to his, as his strong arms wrapped securely around my waist.

"Nice work, Soldier" I half whispered, half chuckled, as I was now level with his face and could see his dark eyebrow arch up.

Jesse placed my feet on the ground and gave me the weirdest facial expression. I thought that maybe my top had drooped down again, so I looked down quickly to check… Nope, my top was fine… Oops, I forgot that um, Jesse is standing before me… And I'm looking down at myself… I raised my head back up to meet Jesse's, and yeah, he was wondering what I was doing.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, trying to break the silence.

"First you call me a Cowboy… Now you think I'm a Solider? Susannah… Forget about being silly, you're just plain _crazy_!" He stated, rather seriously.

"Oh come on, Jesse. You _know_ you love it" I gave him a cheeky grin, and ran a finger across his chest as I headed off to claim my dinner.

_Nothing_ could have prepared me for what was about to happen next… Jesse followed behind me and smacked his hand against my _arse_! A shrill scream abruptly escaped my mouth as I spun around in pure shock.

"_Jesse_!" I squealed in a high pitch voice, feeling a little flushed and embarrassed.

"Be quiet, you'll wake everyone up" He grinned, and cheekily winked at me, while brushing past to head into the kitchen.

I stood there for a minute, totally dumbfounded with what had just happened… But – but he just hit my… And he doesn't even feel embarrassed? How rude! I entered the kitchen and narrowed my eyes at him cheekily, as he pulled the milk carton out of the fridge.

"You do know that it's now _my_ turn…" I informed him, as I bumped him out of the way with my elbow, and reached for my dinner, which was wrapped in aluminium foil.

"Your turn for what?" Jesse asked, grinning down at me, knowing quite well what I had meant.

"My turn to cop a feel" I said casually, while taking a peek at what was under the foil. "Ooh yum, chicken and coleslaw"

Jesse picked up a tea towel and whipped it against my butt. "Not unless I get you first…" He laughed.

"_You little punk_!" I said, as my high pitched voice got the better of me again.

I immediately put the plate on the bench and lunged forward to reach for the tea towel. My firm grasp held onto one end, while Jesse held tightly onto the other.

"Susannah, let's act like mature adults ok?" He chuckled, as I cornered him against the bench.

"_Excuse me_? Like _you_ can talk! You decide to playfully _feel me up_, and then you want to act like adult? _Hah_!"

"Ssshhhh" Jesse chuckled, as he let go of the towel and formed a defensive position.

I raised my eyebrows, as I watched him give me 'the evil eye'…

"I _will_ get my revenge! _When,_ the time is right…" I said calmly, moving away from him, and walking over to heat up my dinner.

"I'm sure you will… Can't hardly wait" Jesse said sarcastically, grabbing an empty glass and pouring milk into it, while sending me an audacious smile.

Before the microwave had a chance to complete its time cycle, and beep loudly at me, I stopped it and retrieved my food. I carried my plate over to where Jesse was seated on the high stool, and pulled up a stool beside him.

Jesse tried not to glance over at me too much as I ate, he didn't want to be rude, but he couldn't help but notice me scoff the food down.

"You'll get indigestion," He warned me, taking a gulp of milk.

"Don't care," I said with my mouth full of coleslaw.

He pulled a disgusted face as he watched me talk while chewing my food. Then without warning, he nicked a piece of chicken from my plate, and threw it in his mouth. My mouth dropped open as I watched in shock, as he stole yet another piece of my chicken.

"Are you going to chew that? Or continue to allow me the pleasure of witnessing your mushed up dinner?" Jesse chuckled, before taking another gulp of milk.

"Well, are sure that you've had _enough_?" I said, meaning about the chicken pieces.

"Oh trust me, I'm quite sure!" He snorted, meaning about my opened mouth and mushed up food.

"You snorted! You _never _snort" I said, sitting forward on the stool and patting him gently on the shoulder.

Jesse looked at me as if I had just seen him take his first steps… Then, he looked as though he was about to say something…

But I raised a hand to stop him, as I sensed that something was approaching the doorstep… Then I heard the sound of keys rattling against the door… Crap! It was Sleepy arriving home from his five hour night shift.

I grabbed my plate in one hand, and pulled on Jesse's shirt with the other. We ducked underneath the kitchen bench, which wasn't really a great spot for hiding… But it was dark. Only a few streaks of moonlight crept through the thin curtains, from the kitchen window.

"It's _Sleepy_" I whispered to Jesse, as we crouched down side by side.

I placed my dinner plate on the floor next to me, and then looked over at Jesse with concern. _Shit_! Where is Jesse's glass? Is it still on the bench? Sleepy was now in the house, as I could hear him padding softly through the lounge room. I nudged Jesse with my arm and arched my hand as if I was holding a cup, trying to warn him about the glass, by tilting my hand to my mouth, pretending to drink…

Unfortunately, my bodily expressions and gesture skills hadn't gotten through to him, and all I received was a dumbfounded look which had a 'what the hell' kind of aspect to it.

It was too late to do anything about it now, anyway. Sleepy had entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, casting a bright vivid light upon half of my body. Jesse had noticed, and pulled me slowly in between his legs so that I was out of the path from the light. We both held our breath, praying that he wouldn't turn around and see us in this position…

Sleepy finally closed the fridge and cracked open a can of Coke, while heading around the other side of the bench and leaning against it. To make maters even worse, Max, the family dog, slowly walked across the lino and headed over towards my dinner plate.

_No! Don't even think about it, you stupid animal!_

I leant forward and swiped at his large collar, which I successfully grabbed a hold of, and dragged him under the bench. Jesse helped me keep him restrained, but Max was desperate to get to my plate… And I didn't want him to bark… So I released my grip from his neck. Straight away, he homed in on the food.

The sound of his noisy licking, and ferocious attitude, was a dead give away...

As I leant back, helplessly against Jesse's chest, I suddenly felt him inhale a number of really quick breaths. I turned my head around to make sure he was all right, when I discovered that he looked as though he was about to sneeze.

_No_! No, you _can't_ sneeze! Not now!

I quickly rotated around so that I was facing him, and shot my hands up firmly against his, which were already covering his mouth. _'No'_ I mouthed to him, while shaking my head quickly.

Hold on, why hasn't Sleepy come around to see what was going on? Don't tell me he hadn't heard Max? … Was Sleepy still here? I slowly stood up, placing my hands on the bench and peering around the empty room. Oh, thank the heavens! He's gone…

I exhaled and looked down to let Jesse know that we were in the clear, when I realised that my pelvic region was kind of um… Right in his face! _Oops_… I quickly crouched back down in front of him, noticing that he hadn't even been aware of the sight before him… His eyes were firmly closed, and he was still tyring to hold back his sneeze.

Hah! This was _totally_ a Kodak moment!

"Jesse, he's gone" I giggled, as I looked at his distraught facial features.

So on instinct, and unable to contain the ticklish feeling any longer, he let it out by jolting his upper body, forward… On to me… Sneezing on my bare shoulders and neckline! And to make the situation even worse, from being in my crouching position, my top wasn't being very cooperative… As in, deciding to droop down! And as I had mentioned before, Jesse had leant forward, which meant that his face was now shoved against my chest.

Jesse quickly forced his body back against the bench and apologised like there was no tomorrow. I on the other hand, flailed my arms up to push the material back against my chest, but I lost my balance while doing so…

Lucky for me, Jesse had excellent reflexes and wrapped his arms around my back, catching me just in time before I toppled backwards. As he pulled my body back into a crouching position, It was then that I had noticed a little milk mustache above Jesse's upper lip…

Ooh, I would like to lick that off… I thought, dazing at his lips. Suze, No! I told myself. I have to prove to him that I _don't_ drool, and I definitely _don't_ lick off milk mustaches. Stop staring at it… Stop staring at his lips! I warned myself.

"That was a close call" Jesse whispered.

We stood up carefully, and he continued to hold me close to his body. It took everything that I had, to stop from being drawn in by the milk… So I did the only thing a decent girl could do... I avoided his gaze.

"What's wrong?" Jesse asked, when I continuously moved my head, when he tried to align his face with mine. "I am really sorry about sneezing on you…"

"No, it's not that…" I said in a low voice.

Then for the first time, I actually realised about the fact that he had actually sneezed on me… It was completely gross but um… girls? This was Jesse! Ok, calm down Suze…

"I'm err, thirsty"

He let go of me and turned around to pick up the glass, which Sleepy somehow managed to not see, and offered it to me.

"Would you like some milk?"

Milk? Yes! But not from the glass… The only thing I could conjure up, instead of totally throwing myself onto him, was to giggle like a little girl. Jesse just looked at me weirdly, and then stared down into the glass… So I thought I should let him in on the little secret. I took his hand and guided him over to the hallway mirror.

"Oh" He murmured, quickly raising an arm up to wipe the milk away.

I was about to say '_No_, _stop_!' But it was too late; the milk had disappeared… A depressed sigh escaped my mouth and I rubbed my tired eyes.

"I'm _so_ tired" I wailed, lifelessly leaning against the wall.

Before I could say anything else, Jesse had swept me up in his masculine arms and smiled gorgeously at me.

"Ooh, hello!" I cheekily grinned, while quickly wrapping my arms loosely around his neck.

As Jesse carried me across the hall, and started for the stairs, I had been staring into his eyes the whole time. This is so romantic, I thought. What on earth have I done to deserve this God sent gift? Jesse's eyes would occasionally flicker in contact with mine, but he was normally concentrating on where he was stepping… And trying to avoid my feet from bumping into anything.

He layed my body down carefully on the mattress, and gently ran his fingers through my long hair. Awe… Jesse is _so_ not leaving me this time, I decided. I reached out for his arm, and lightly tugged him close, so that he leant over my body, allowing me to stare longingly into his eyes.

"Don't leave me" I whispered.

"... Ok" He whispered back to me, gently trying to regain his standing position.

I released my grip, as he seemed a little uncomfortable. He better not be expecting to sleep on that window seat… Like hell he was! As he slowly started to turn in the window's direction, I stopped him quickly.

"Jesse - Sleep _here_…" I said, patting the empty space beside me on the bed.

Jesse stopped in his tracks, and looked at where I was intending for him to sleep. He gulped nervously, and silently gazed from the bed, to my face. I prompted my weight back onto my elbows and leaned against my mattress, waiting for him to move, or at least do _something_…

"Um… Are you sure?" He choked out in a hoarse whisper. "I mean… err, the window seat is fine…"

"Come on, it's _freezing_… Shut up, and get over here" I demanded, chuckling while keeping my composure.

He slowly obeyed my orders, but physically seemed tense, as he headed towards my bed. I suddenly felt a little guilty about being so direct… But I wanted Jesse, _here_, with me…

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, you can sleep on top of the sheet…" I suggested, while pulling the quilt cover back.

Jesse slightly nodded, excepted my offer about sleeping on top of the sheet, and got into the bed next to me. I smiled, pulled the quilt cover over his body, and lied back, looking up at the ceiling above us. Oh my God! He's next to me, in my _bed_! I sighed, and let out a soft moan of delight.

"Um, good night. Susannah"

I rolled over onto my side, so that I could face him, after sensing a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"It's ok, Jesse. Relax" I smiled gently, before placing my head on his shoulder and bringing my hand up to his tightened arm. "See you in the morning" I whispered, as I closed my eyes and nuzzled against his side.

Once that I had gotten comfortable, Jesse seemed to relax a little. I felt his arm loosen beneath my hand, and he moved his cheek onto the top of my head. I felt so safe... In no time, I was so tired that I fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

Did I dream that night? I don't know… But I knew for a fact that my dream had already become true. I had Jesse, the man of my dreams, in my arms, sleeping beside me…

I _love_ my life…


	20. Roller Blading

**Sunday Morning**

It was early the next morning, when I felt a soft kiss being planted on my forehead. I didn't open my eyes, but I could sense that Jesse's face was right in front of mine. He slightly leant over my body, and held onto one of my hands, as I lied peacefully on my back, under the warmth of the covers.

Then, to my surprise, instead of receiving another kiss, or some sort of affectionate embrace, he slowly let go of my hand and slipped out from the covers. It was then, when I had decided to force my heavy, tired eyes open.

"Where are you going?" I whispered in a muffled, sleepy voice.

"Oh, Querida…" He smiled, sitting back down on the warm spot beside me which he had just departed from. "… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up"

My eyes were fighting with all their might to stay open, and Jesse had noticed my discomfort. He lifted a hand to my face and carefully rubbed my cheek, brushing his thumb across my temple. The warmth from Jesse's hand made my eyes grow heavy, and I relaxed by closing my eyes once more.

"You look so beautiful in the morning…" He whispered, as he moved his hand gently over my forehead, pushing strands of hair from my face.

"Lay down" I moaned in a sleepy voice, as a slight smile tried to form on my mouth.

"Susannah, I would lay with you forever if I could"

I mumbled and twitched my eyes. "And you can't because…?"

"I have to leave now, before someone realises that I've been here all night…" Jesse replied, sighing as he looked down at me.

My head somehow managed to give him a nod… He gave a slight chuckle and pulled my quilt up to my neck, tucking me in at the sides.

"Go back to sleep… It's only 6:30am, and we've got an exciting day ahead of us!" Jesse said, referring to the roller blading activity that we were going to tackle later on.

And with that, he leant down and gave me another kiss, this time on the top of my head. As Jesse stood up, he whispered that he loved me. I would have replied, but I was already falling back into a deep sleep.

The next time that I had opened my eyes, the sun had risen, and was shinning in through the curtains. I rolled over to see what time it was… _Ten o clock_… Oops, I really did sleep in.

After I had showered and brushed my teeth, I got dressed in a fitted pink tee, my black ¾ length tights, and twisted my hair into a loose, messy bun.

Hmmm, was Jesse up yet? I wondered, as I opened my bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway. There was no harm in checking… Right? I slowly opened the door to Doc's room and peeped inside. Oh, the room was deserted… _Damn_.

* * *

I scanned Jesse's clothes as he sat on the porch steps, tying up his shoelaces. He wore a pair of black, ¾ length cargo shorts and a light green shirt. The shirt was _damn _good looking on him! The sleeve cuffs were designed so they doubled over, just the perfect length to reveal a little bit of his biceps… And that shade of light green really brang out his perfectly tanned skin. Jesse suddenly caught me starring at his shirt, and grinned as he stood up, heading across the lawn to where I was waiting. 

"Do you like the shirt?" Jesse asked as he approached me. "…Or is it a little too… green?"

"Nah, green looks good on you," I said, trying to sound casual without totally giving away that 'drooling' aspect about it…

It was such a beautiful day, the sun was out, the birds were chirping, and there wasn't a single cloud in that bright blue sky… We walked a few blocks down near the park; to where I knew there was a shop that hired out skates to the public.

Once we had hired our gear, we sat down on the concrete wall, which surrounded the water fountain, and started getting ready. Jesse continuously looked over at me, copying and observing where the elbow and knee pads where supposed to be positioned.

"Susannah… What happens if we fall backwards?" Jesse asked, while looking down at the knee pad, and twisting it into place.

"Well, it's probably going to happen…" I said, as I looked over at him. Oh man he made me quiver; but not because of fear… "Anyway, I'm not even thinking that far in advance. I'm more worried about standing up!" I laughed, while rolling my feet on the ground beneath me.

Jesse glanced over at me with a worried look upon his face. So I reached over and took a hold of Jesse's hand.

"Come on, it's not as bad as it looks" I reassured him. "I was only kidding"

"Ok, then what are you waiting for?" He asked, daring me to go first.

"I – I'm waiting for…" My eyes wandered around aimlessly. "Um, _you_… Yeah, I'm waiting for you!"

"Well, I am ready now" Jesse proclaimed.

"Good"

"Good," He echoed.

I looked down at one of my skates and lifted it up to check out the row of shiny wheels.

"Hmmm…" I moaned, rolling my hand over them, realising how agile and smoothly they seemed to rotate.

"What are you waiting for? … Are you stalling?" Jesse grinned, leaning over to look me in the eyes.

"_No_! I'm just checking to make sure they work properly!" I sternly demanded, before slamming my foot back down on the ground and watching it slide forwards.

Jesse raised his right eyebrow and slowly started to hoist himself of the concrete wall. _Yeah, that's right! You go first! Anyway, what makes you so cocky, you were nervous a minute ago! _I thought to myself.

It was rather amusing as Jesse stood there without holding onto anything. He looked really frightened. Then Jesse outstretched his arms a little to give him balance and he slowly, repeat, _slowly_, rolled forward.

"Oh, you're doing great Jesse!" I cheered a little sarcastically. "Any faster, and you'll become a blur!"

"Susannah! _I'm_ the one who's trying here!" He replied, seeming a little frustrated as he kept his eyes on the ground.

I chuckled to myself, and then decided that I should get off my backside and do something productive.

_Ooh, shock horror, I'm still standing! _I thought as I stood up on the spot. Without really doing anything, I somehow started to roll forward, heading towards Jesse, who still seemed to be struggling, trying not to make any sudden movements.

"Um, Jesse…" I said slowly, as I realised that he was directly in my path of travel.

But it was too late; it's not like I could just _skate_ around him… I'm kind of an amateur here! So inevitably, I bumped into the back off him, causing him to curse in Spanish.

Luckily there was a patch of grass in front of us, so we were saved... This time! Jesse stepped onto the grass and breathed out heavily as he spun around to pull me onto the grass.

"What were you thinking?" Jesse demanded seriously. "I'm not a tree or a light post, you know" He then lightened up, and gave a little chuckle.

"Hey, I couldn't help it that you were in my way…" I said, casually brushing a few loose strands of hair from my face.

"I was in _your _way?" Jesse said, before waving an arm around the park. "Look how much space you have… And you claim that _I_ was in your way"

I shrugged my shoulders and giggled. "Well anyway, you're the best looking tree or light post that I've ever seen… If that helps"

Jesse narrowed his eyes at me and let out a breath of laughter. "I don't know how you do it, Susannah"

"Do what? Wiggle my way out of sticky situations?" I said a little flirtatiously.

"Hmm, something like that..." Jesse laughed, while placing his hands on his hips.

Anyway, we skated around on the grass for a while… And received a few weird looks from other skaters, but we didn't care. After a few harsh comments from little children, I could tell that Jesse was starting to feel a little embarrassed. He skated up close to me, and started whispering in my ear about how ridiculous he feels. I held my breath at the closeness of Jesse's lips, and restrained myself from grabbing and kissing him… So after I had gained my senses, we had decided to attempt another go on the concrete.

Jesse had improved considerably, and was actually skating around on the paved concrete. I on the other hand, was still weary and not as confident as I'd like to have been. Don't get me wrong, I was actually skating… Or rolling… I groaned and clung onto a nearby light post as if it was my life support.

"_Jesse_" I moaned, looking up and realising that he was now skating rather fast, and was circling around the fountain. "How come_ you're_ so good at this?" I wailed.

He shrugged and whizzed past me, grinning. "Not everyone has accurate balance"

"I can balance just fine!" I yelled after him, pushing away from the light post.

_I'll show him! He is so not going to show off like this! If Jesse can skate, so can I, damn it! _

"Stop showing off" I demanded, while trying to catch up to him.

But before I knew it, I was suddenly staring up at the bright blue sky, feeling a throbbing pain in my back. Then I heard someone chuckling, and a familiar face appeared, blocking out the blue sky. Jesse had skated over my body, with each leg either side of my waist.

"Are you alright?" He asked, trying not to let his amusement become too obvious.

"I'm_ fine_" I grimaced up at him.

But my facial features soon changed, as I realised that from looking up, I was getting an interesting point of view. Jesse soon noticed my gawking, so he bent down and took hold of my arms, pulling me up from the ground. My feet immediately rolled from under me… Jesse caught me from under my arm pits and pulled me close to his body.

My eyes slowly scanned up his chest, along his neck, past his lips, and then finally reached his eyes, where I stopped and firmly fixated my gaze. Jesse pulled a few dry leaves out of my messy bun, and wiped a bit of dirt from my cheek.

"I think that this activity may take a bit of time and practise" He smiled, locking his eyes back on mine.

"Yeah…" I agreed without really hearing what he had said. Jesse's eyes had me totally captivated, that nothing could distract me right now.

"But of course, I don't mind spending time with you! Even if it requires shoes with wheels... Which I must add, are a fantastic invention"

It was as if someone had frozen me or something… I hadn't blinked once, and my mouth was starting to get a little dry. _Hmmm I wonder what Jesse had just said_? …

"Susannah, are you even listening to me?" 

Um not really_… Release me from your captivating glance, will you_? I thought to myself.

Jesse realised that I was totally infatuated at the moment, and was probably lost in some sort of deep thought, so he decided to have a little fun…

"Someone's _drooling_ again…" Jesse chuckled, noticing that I hadn't even flinched at his comment.

No response... Ok, I think I noticed that Jesse's eyebrows had creased, and he seemed a little confused...

"Will you marry me?" He joked; half expecting me to answer or at least respond to that sort of question.

_God! If only I wasn't such a dreamer!_

Nope, still no response… But I did notice that a disappointed look had washed across his face for a minute…

"Susannah, you have a spider crawling up your shoulder"

"_What_?" I screamed, immediately returning 'back to earth', and flicking wildly at both of my shoulders.

"Susannah…" He chuckled, while watching me have a heart attack. "_Susannah_!" Jesse grabbed my flying arms before I lost my balance and pulled me back to him. "I was just playing with you" He laughed.

"_What_… Why?" I demanded, trying not to fall back into another trance."What were you saying?" I urged, nudging his arm.

Jesse ran his hand through his hair, as the soft breeze slowly made it fall back into its position. "Come on, are we going to skate? Or stand around here all day…"

For some reason, Jesse's attitude seemed to change. He seemed a little peeved or something… As he turned his back to me, and slowly started to skate off, I outstretched my hands, and grabbed onto his shirt.

"Hey, I've got a good idea," I said, causing him to come to a stop. "_Mush_!" I laughed.

"I beg your pardon?" Jesse asked in a toneless voice.

"Mush" I repeated. "It's what people call out to get the sled dogs moving across the snow…"

"Well, you're going to rip my shirt," He said without looking back at me.

I suddenly thought that maybe that was a bad idea, so I slowly loosened my arms from his shirt.

"Wait… I've got a better idea" He said quickly, startling me a little.

And before I knew it, Jesse was moving my hands around to his waist. He held my hands against his body, and looked back over his shoulder to smile at me. I sighed happily, as we started skating around the park, relying on one another for support.

Everything was great! The wind was blowing through my hair, the sun shone down on my skin, and I was spending this beautiful day by Jesse's side… Literally!

Suddenly, a rock had gotten caught in my wheels, and I immediately stumbled sideways, letting go of Jesse and landing hard on the front hood of a parked vehicle.

"Dios, Susannah! Are you alright?"

I mumbled a couple of swear words, as my body lay helplessly across the warm metal. Jesse rushed (well, carefully skated) over to the car, and lifted me to a standing position. I lolled my head back a little, before his hand grasped the back of my neck.

"Susannah?" I heard him call, as his voice echoed throughout my head.

It wasn't long before I gained my composure, and looked into his deeply concerned eyes. I forced a smile, and nodded slowly to let him know that I wasn't going to slip into a coma or something.

"_Oh Crap_!" I cursed, as I suddenly recognised what kind of vehicle I had just dented.

"Sssshhh. Don't worry" Jesse said, trying to calm my sudden rush of nervousness. "We will just explain what happened and…"

"Jesse, you don't understand…" I forced quickly, cutting off his sentence. "We've _got_ to get out of here before he comes back!"

"Susannah! We can't just leave…"

"This is _Brett's _car, Jesse!" I shrieked loudly, while quickly scanning the area frantically.

He was stunned for a few seconds, as he crinkled his eyebrows. "What? Are you _sure_?"

"_Yes_!" I blurted out, while starting to pull my skates off. "_I think I would remember the car in which I had tried to be seduced in_!"

Oops, I hadn't even thought twice about yelling that one out… I didn't even look at Jesse; I just ripped my other skate off, and bolted off across the grass. I didn't even look back, or wait for Jesse to catch up, I just completely bolted!

Jesse had finally caught up to me, and panted heavily beside me, as we both doubled over from exhaustion. He had followed me all the way back to the skate hiring shop. We returned our skating gear without speaking a word, and slipped back into our shoes.

"I'm sorry…" I said softly, pressing my hand to Jesse's shoulder as we cautiously started to walk away from the shop. "I don't know… I mean, I'm sure there is more than one vehicle around, that happens to be the same model as his…"

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for" Jesse said, turning my body towards his. "It's ok, I understand!" He insured me, as he rubbed my arms. "If anything… I'm the one who should be sorry…"

"Huh? Jesse, there's nothing you could have done…"

"No, there is…" He questioned, holding me tightly in his arms. "After what you went through that night…"

I quickly raised a hand to his mouth to stop him from talking. "Jesse, please… That's in the past, I forgive you! Anyway, I half expected you to go off like that. I mean, you're just protective of me, and I know –"

My sentence was abruptly cut off, as Jesse kissed my hand, which was placed against his lips. He gently tugged on my arm; wrapping his arm around my back and pulling me close against his body. Before I had a chance to think about the beating of my heart or the warmth of his body… He kissed me!

I wouldn't have guessed that Jesse was the type who would feel comfortable about kissing in public… But hey, I'm not really in a position to complain! Jesse kisses were totally indescribable… There was no desperation from an imposing tongue… He kept his tongue to himself. There was no pressure to try and impress him... I already knew I had accomplished that! 

We loved one another, and enjoyed the simple little romantic things… Not that kissing Jesse was little… _God No_! I just mean that being with Jesse made me feel comfortable, knowing that sex wasn't going to be number-one on his 'to do list'! Well, especially since we were outside in a public place anyway… I'm sure he isn't thinking about that… _Why am I thinking about that_?

"Let's go get something to eat" He whispered, after he had slowly ended the kiss and gave me a tight hug. 

I wrapped my arm securely around his and we started to head off, passing a block off public toilets.

"Oh, I really need to go… I'll be one minute, ok?" Jesse said, untangling his arm from mine and heading over to the dark, brick toilets.

I didn't think anything of it. I mean, he was only going to be a minute… What could possibly happen in a minute, right? A sudden rush fear ran through my body. Something was not right… I felt like I was being watched. Desperately, my head turned and my eyes scanned around the park.

I sensed Brett… Every inch of my body felt as though he was close, watching me… 

"Susannah?" I heard a male's voice…

Jesse appeared in front of my body, scaring me… Forcing a scream to escape my trembling mouth.

"Susannah? It's me…" Jesse gently took my hands. "Are you alright?"

My eyes flicked from the faces of the people who were in the park, expecting, but not _wanting_ to find Brett. I scanned each face until I came upon the one, which was right in front of mine…

"Jesse…" I breathed heavily in relief.

Jesse's face was mixed full of concern, angst and even… fear. He seemed so close, but yet so distant.

"I'm scared" I whispered.

Without delay, Jesse threw his arms around me and rubbed his hand against my back, whispering words into my ear.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard! I'm gonna _kill_ him…"

Whoa, did Jesse just swear… In English? He sounds so hot when he swears in English! Even though he is threatening to kill someone...

I hugged him tighter and gave the back of his neck a little squeeze.

"Just you wait…" He whispered softly, yet sternly and full of anger. "I'll teach him a lesson he'll _never _forget!"


	21. Overwhelming Feelings

Jesse and I talked and laughed, as we casually strolled through the park in search of any food stores. We eventually grabbed some hamburgers and relaxed under a shady tree while conversing about our skating abilities.

He is such a beautiful guy… I thought, as I dreamingly gazed over his face for a brief moment as he rubbed at a patch of dirt on his forearm. A swirl of emotions suddenly stirred around in my stomach… I don't think that I will ever grow out of childishly drooling over him…

I quickly diverted my gazed to the ground as he looked up from his arm in my direction.

"Um, Jesse?" I spoke in a quiet voice, while gently twisting a few loose strands of chestnut coloured hair around my finger.

"Yes, Querida"

_My God_, I loved when he spoke in that soft, warming tone… The way that he patiently looked at me, waiting for me to speak… It's like he is completely focusing on me, and that nothing else matters to him at this point in time.

I didn't quite know where to start… In fact, what was it that I was going to say? I looked away from him, trying to grasp hold of some words to string together. A soft giggle escaped from within as I suddenly remembered something from the past.

"Can I… Err, oh man…" I scratched my head as I thought about how to word this.

Jesse chuckled and shuffled closer to me, causing me to feel that little extra bit shy.

"I never would have thought that _Susannah Simon_ could ever got lost for words" He laughed, lightly teasing me while poking me in the shoulder.

I blushed and avoided his gaze, as the gentle breeze swept strands of hair from my face. My mind blocked any sign of arranging words into sentences for me, so I remained silent for a minute longer, biting down on my lower lip.

"Come on, don't get all shy on me. You can tell me anything" Jesse said, lowering his head down to meet mine.

"Yeah, I know… It's just, well; It's a little embarrassing…"

"Well then, this should be good" Jesse smiled while leaning back, resting his hands on the grass behind him, and supporting his weight.

I narrowed my eyes at his smart remark and playfully slapped his chest. "Don't get so cocky, this is about you"

"Really, about _me_? And it's embarrassing? Oh no, wait… I bet I know what it is!" He exclaimed smoothly, raising one of his eyebrows in a sexy way.

"Yeah? Enlighten me!" I urged him, knowing that he couldn't possibly know what I had in mind.

"Ok… You are going to confess to me about your _drooling_ problem" He said rather confidently.

I burst out into a deep laughter. "What! Um, no Jesse. I _don't_ think that's it!" I said between laughter.

His sexy facial expression remained on his face as he watched me double over in laughter. "Well, it's only a matter of time before you admit it" He smiled cheekily.

"_Gees_, Jesse! Get over it!" I said as my laughter slightly died down. "Do you want me to _physically_ drool on you or something? Because it can be arranged!" I said, while twiddling with blades of grass between my fingers.

"No… How about I arranged something more… enticing?" He said in a low sexy voice.

My eyes shot up and looked into his, which seemed rather serious. Whoa, these sudden cheeky comments are occurring more and more often… And so is the feeling of being temporary winded and speechless…

"Ooh, so what have you got in mind?" I cheekily said, challenging his words.

He rubbed his thumb and index finger on his chin, and stared into my eyes as if he were searching my face for what I was thinking.

"How about you finish what you had started to tell me – Well, your pitiful attempt anyway…"

"Nope. That's not enticing enough for me," I said being childishly stubborn, while looking up at the beautiful blue sky.

When I turned back to look at him, he sent me a devilish grin, as a glint of light quickly seemed to flash over his face.

"What? Do you expect me to let my intentions known, right _now_?" Jesse said, sitting up and casually resting an arm on his folded leg. "Or, shall I _show_ you tonight?"

My mouth suddenly went dry, causing me to choke. Jesse leant forward and started patting me on the back, trying to help clear my throat.

"I'm sorry…" He said apologetically. "That was rather rude of me. I'm truly sorry…" He continued, leaning back and embarrassedly blushing a little as he ran his fingers through his hair.

I managed to gain my breath back, and my coughing started to grow into laughter. Jesse looked up and realised that I hadn't taken it too seriously. He eased up and laughed a little along with me.

"Man, you have _really_ got to stop catching me off guard like that!" I coughed from laughter.

After a few minutes of silence, we had decided to go for a walk to get off some of the calories, which we had just consumed. So we quietly walked around the park, taking in the lovely weather and watching other people riding their bikes, children playing ball games and flying kites… When all of a sudden Jesse broke the silence…

"Susannah, you've got me all curious now!" He said, stopping and standing in front or me.

"Huh?" I replied, sounding dumbfounded.

"What were you going to tell me before? You know… before we got, um side tracked" He pried rather curiously.

"Oh, _that_…" I said in a way which sounded as though I had pretended to forget about even mentioning it. "… It's rather stupid, really"

Jesse looked at me, expecting me to give in and tell him anyway.

"It'll make a good bedtime story…" I giggled, continuing to walk, leaving him to catch up to me.

"Susannah, you can't do this to me!" Jesse whined, jogging in front of me, blocking my way. "It's not fair" He pouted.

"Have I ever told you that you look cute when you pout?" I laughed, tapping my finger on the tip of his nose, causing him to blink.

Jesse placed his hands on his hips and shifted his weight onto one foot. "So, will you promise to tell me this 'bedtime story' later on?"

I smirked and though about it for a moment. "Well, that all depends…"

"On what?" He asked quickly, as if he were getting prepared to do anything.

"On whether or not you're a good boy - gentleman" I corrected.

He eyed me suspiciously, scanning from my right eye, to my left one. Then totally out of the blue, he knelt down on one knee and took hold of my hands.

"You know that I'll do anything for you" He smiled up at me.

"Ok, _Ok_! Get up" I laughed, while looking around to see if anyone was watching.

The coast was clear. As Jesse stood up on his feet, his gazed fixated on something behind me.

"Hey, look!" Jesse pointed enthusiastically over my shoulder. I spun around to see what he was so excited about. "You never said anything about an art gallery being in Carmel"

I spun back around and looked up at him dumfoundedly. "Um, I never knew you liked that sort of thing…" I said blankly.

"Oh, come on Susannah! You're kidding, right?" Jesse chuckled, while pushing my shoulder, causing me to take a step backwards. "Let's go check it out!"

"Check it out? Um, how about… No"

Jesse's expression turned serious, as he realised that I seriously wasn't interested in art.

"Why not?" He asked as if he were shocked to hear someone refuse to go into an art gallery.

"Because… It's boring" I whined, while rolling my eyes.

Jesse frowned down at me and shook his head in disbelief. "Well, do you mind if I had a quick browse around?" He asked, turning around to look at the ancient stone gallery walls.

"_Sure_, knock yourself out!" I said full of sarcasm.

"Thankyou, Susannah" Jesse smiled, not noticing my sarcastic tone as he kissed my forehead, before turning and rushing towards the gallery entrance.

_Great one_! _I'm in love with an ancient history/art lover_… I sighed and slowly wandered around outside, impatiently kicking loose gravel.

"What's the matter, you're not into art?" I heard a familiar voice shudder throughout my body.

My head immediately shot up in the direction of the voice, and a sudden intense painful groan escaped my mouth.

"I don't blame you, Suze. I mean, I prefer other forms of art as well…" He grinned.

I winced at him and leaned casually against the stone wall of the gallery. This resulted in him trying to block me in, so I quickly moved away from his reach, kind of side stepping.

Brett raised an eyebrow and let out a slight chuckle of amusement towards my actions. "Trying to dance are we?" He motioned to my short stepping as we kind of circled around each other.

I stopped moving and stared blankly up at Brett's face. _What the hell am I supposed to do_? _How do I get rid of him_? Ok, just act calm… Jesse will be back soon… Just keep stalling…

"Suze, how about we get outta here…"

"Is that a _joke_?" I demanded harshly, while awkwardly cutting him off. "Jesse's gonna be out any moment, and he's gonna _kick your arse_!"

Brett laughed hysterically out loud. "_Jesse_? That pansy's gonna kick _my_ arse?"

I clenched my fists in anger, and almost felt like telling him about what I had done to his car… The thought really crossed my mind, but then again… He'd be _really_ pissed! So I think I'd rather let him find out on his own accord.

By now, I was getting really annoyed and flustered up… Brett would _not_ stop laughing!

"Shut the _hell_ up!" I yelled, turning around and continued walking when Brett grabbed my shoulder and turned me around so I had to look at his ugly face.

"Well, if you insist…" He chuckled and ran his fingers down my back.

"Don't _touch_ me" I cringed, promptly moving away from his touch.

Brett just widened his grin, and moved in to kiss me.

"I said _don't_!"

"Don't _what_! Don't kiss you?" He grinned, raising an eyebrow.

I stared up at him blankly. Is he taking _drugs_? He will not give up… He will not take _no _for an answer… Why is this happening to me? Why can't he chase after some other girl who actually _likes_ him?

"Can't you get a girl, Brett? Is that it? Is that why you are destroying my life? Well, _news flash_! Have you actually tried going after girls who show an interest…"

"Don't give me that _bullshit_, Suze!" He demanded, forcefully interrupting and pulling me closer. "I've found my girl! I've just gotta make her mine…"

And with that, he forced his body up against mine, and slammed his lips down to kiss my lips.

"_Leave me the hell alone_!" I screamed, pushing him away from me as he kissed my neck, after I had turned my head to avoid him kissing my lips. I kicked his shin, threw his arm off me, and started to quickly stride away from him.

"Suze, don't you walk away from me!" He yelled after me.

But I didn't stop walking until I felt a large hand, tightly grab my left arm. Brett swung my body around to face him and raised his hand to block my other arm, which was about to take a swing in his direction.

"Brett, let me _go_!" I demanded, tyring to kick him again.

"No matter how hard you try, you're _never_ gonna get rid of me, Suze" He said, calmly grabbing my leg which had almost kneed him in the _you-know-whats._

Brett ran his hand up my thigh for only a split second, as I slapped him across the cheek with my free hand. This caused him to let me go, but I didn't have enough time to escape… He moved closer to my body, causing me to back up until I hit a brick wall. He leaned in close to my face, his hands on either side of the wall, caging me in. Then, Brett lowered his head until his lips were inches away from my right ear.

"You're too _good _to give up on, Suze… Please don't give up on me"

He whispered as he allowed his lips to graze the tender flesh of my ear. I shivered at his touch as I felt his lips trail from my ear, and travel down along my neck. I closed my eyes in ecstasy, at the warmth from his breath.

"I gave up on you a long time ago, Brett" I whispered, as a single tear escaped from my eye and fell freely down my cheek. I couldn't bare to look at him, and I certainly didn't want him this close to my body.

"I hate you" I whispered, wiping the tear away.

"No you don't," He said, running his index finger along my jaw line.

"_Yes I do_!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, causing him to jump back a little.

"Hey Suze, what happened to the date you promised me?" Brett asked as he took a step back towards me.

"How _dare_ you even think that I'd -"

"You were gonna stand me up?" He interrupted harshly, suddenly getting agitated.

I slowly shook my head suggesting that I wasn't going to stand him up, and swallowed a dry lump, which had formed in my throat. Brett stopped in front of me, and stared into my eyes. I can't stand this any more… I can't be near him… He was _crazy_!

I looked past Brett, to the entrance to the gallery. _Come on Jesse, hurry up damn it_! Then it suddenly struck me; I had an idea that might just work as a distraction…

"Oh _Jesse_, thank God!" I shouted, ethicising on his name and pretending that he was coming this way.

It worked! Brett backed up instantly and turned around, expecting to see an angry man about to pound him in complete rage. I immediately ran for it, bolting across the grass in the direction of the pond.

"You _conniving_ bitch!" He bellowed, charging after me.

_Shit_! What was I going to do? Where was I going to go? Then my eyes scanned across the large pond… Should I?

"_Stop_! _Don't come any closer! I- I will jump_!" I said in a shrill voice, stepping up onto the pond ledge and turning to face Brett, who had almost caught up to me.

"Suze…" Brett smiled, as he outstretched his right arm towards me. "… Don't be stupid"

I didn't wait another second. I turned around, jumped into the pond, and started to swim through the mossy, disgusting water. _This is so gross_! I thought as I parted the waterlilies out of my way.

"_Susannah_?" I heard a familiar voice yell out.

I stopped swimming for a minute and turned around to find Jesse standing on the edge of the pond, about 10 metres away from Brett, whom he hadn't seemed to notice staring out at me.

"What on _earth_ are you doing?" He called.

I didn't need to say anything… Everything happened in a split second… Brett looked at Jesse, I pointed to Brett while looking at Jesse, and Jesse who was looking at me, turned to find a rather stunned Brett staring back at him.

I floated there, in the thick murky water, and watched in amazement at what happened next…

Jesse immediately bolted towards Brett, and Brett wasted no time in jumping into the pond to escape him. I had half-expected Jesse to jump in there after him, but he hesitated, came to an abrupt halt at where Brett had been once standing, and watched uneasily as Brett started swimming out towards me.

"_Shit_!" I yelled out, before turning back around to frantically swim in the opposite direction, away from Brett. I swam as fast as I could, but my legs were growing tired and my whole body was growing weaker by the minute. As I slowed down to take a breath, a large hand grabbed onto my neck and pulled me backward.

"Let go of me you - filthy creature!" I breathed heavily, prying Brett's fingers from my neck while trying to squirm away. And I almost escaped…

"_Come here_!" Brett demanded in a deep raspy voice, tugging on my leg, pulling me closer.

I tried to get out of his grip but he was too heavy; I was going to drown if I fought against him, and his arms were so strong. Brett grabbed my arms, lifted them around his shoulders and pulled his body close to mine. My chest was now pressing up against his… And by the look on his face, he was enjoying it.

In fact, he liked it so much that he felt the urge to make a move... _Predictable_! I managed to gather water in my mouth, just as his lips were in front of mine. So when he parted his lips and pressed them against mine… I _spat_ the water down his throat.

This definitely shocked him, as he partially released me and started to choke on the sudden intake of water. I vigorously tried to fight the perverted bastard off me, when suddenly; a hand appeared in front of Brett's face and dunked him under the murky green water.

"_Oh my God, Jesse_!" I shrieked while trying drastically to stay afloat.

Brett was now doubly perplexed, as he struggled to get out of Jesse's grasp and breathed heavily, tyring to get some air into his lungs.

_Whoa_! I don't think that Jesse was kidding when he stated that he would _kill_ Brett…

As I watched in complete trepidation at the wild splashing and constant yelling, a large scaly creature rubbed up against my calf. _A fish_? I screamed out a deadly, high pitched sound from feeling the slimy, scaly creature against my skin.

Instinctively, Jesse had let go of Brett and swam over to me to make sure I was all right.

"It was just a fish…" I breathed, as Jesse gave me a concerned look.

A sudden emission of desperation and pain seemed to flood his face, as he glanced over his shoulder at Brett who was choking for air, then flicked back to me, looking straight into my eyes.

Suddenly, a deep voice loudly filled the air as it projected through a megaphone. I unlocked my eyes from Jesse's, and looked over to the edge of the pond where two policemen were standing, shouting for us to get out of the water.

"Come on Susannah, let's get out of here" Jesse said, while lightly tugging on my shoulder.

"But what about _him_…" I said, looking over at Brett, who appeared to be loosing consciousness. "He's gonna _escape_!"

Jesse icily looked over at Brett in revulsion and eyed his almost lifeless body in disgust. "Not unless he _drowns_…"

I threw Jesse a look of astonishment. "_Jesse_! We just can't leave him after you've… That's… _Murder_"

The policeman had yelled through the megaphone again, demanding that we get out of the pond immediately. Jesse muttered something in Spanish through gritted teeth, as he scooped his arm under Brett's armpit, across his shoulder, and started swimming towards the policemen.

We had finally made our way through the mossy pond scum, and made it to the edge of the pond, where large hands appeared to pull us out of the water. They were both yelling out at the same time, that it was hard to understand what they were saying. I think I caught onto something like…

"_What the hell were you guys doing? Are you crazy, this water is polluted! Are you all right? Is anyone injured_?"

As one of the men had scooped my weak body out onto land, I collapsed onto the gravel, coughing out some of the disgusting water, which I had swallowed. Jesse reluctantly handed Brett's lifeless body over to the hands of a bulky policeman. The first man, who had pulled me out, went back over to help Jesse, who was already hoisting himself out on his own.

"_Susannah_!" He cried out, immediately rushing over and dropping to the gavel in front of me. "_Nombre de Dios, I am so, so sorry Querida_!" Jesse said, frantically apologising as he wrapped his arms around my soaking wet body.

My emotions overflowed and I burst into a flood of tears, grasping Jesse as tightly as I could and burying my head into his chest.

As Jesse and I desperately clung together in the dirt like the Yin and Yang symbols, the police had called the ambulance. Apparently things weren't looking so good for Brett…

We had to give our details to the police, well my details… Like phone number and address and stuff. Jesse had briefly explained to them what had happened… About the whole 'psycho Brett' issue. They didn't seem to be impressed; I think they just thought it was one of those 'teenage' break up scenarios… Well, God knows how old Brett _really_ is… I'd probably say somewhere between 21 and 23… Stupid lying bastard!

Anyway, the police had to go with Brett when the Ambulance had arrived. They informed us about what would happen if Brett, um, had difficulties recovering… But I wasn't thinking about what would happen if Brett were to, err, die… No! I was more concerned about the fact that he wasn't obviously going to pass on into his next life cooperatively.

I gulped as I watched the ambulance drive off, with its sirens blaring out loud. A _dead_ Brett will be worse than the _alive_ one could ever be…

A large hand gently landed on my shoulder, followed by a comforting smile.

"Come on, Susannah. Let's go home"

Home? That was a beautiful word. Not only because it got me out of Brett's reach, but to hear the word _home _coming from Jesse, just made it sound so warm and special.

You know, because my home, is his home…


	22. Prolonging the Inevitable

**Prolonging the Inevitable**

"Jesse, we look _terrible_… And not to mention, we _smell_!" I wailed, pulling out my hair tie and letting my hair drop past my shoulders. "My top is _ruined_" I continued complaining, peeling my shirt from my stomach, noticing that it was now a murky brownish colour instead of pink.

Jesse smirked at me, and reached over to pull a bit of moss out of my damp, tangled hair. "I'm sure you'll survive" He chuckled.

I rolled my eyes at his comment. "Yeah, unlike someone else we know…"

"Good riddens to him," Jesse said through gritted teeth, as he flicked a strand of sea grass from his own shirt.

I looked over at him and scowled. "Don't say that Jesse, it's not funny. Brett really may not survive you know…" I said, trailing off as we trudged up the hill.

"And you _care_? Susannah, after all that he's done to you -"

"That doesn't mean that we have to go and _kill_ him!" I shouted. Jesse hushed me, noticing that a few neighbours' heads had turned our way. "You of all people should know what it's like being _dead_! And you know who he will be coming after…"

"Oh _please_!" Jesse said, annoyed at the fact that I had reminded him of his past status. "He's only got water in his lungs! They'll pump it out, and he'll be fine in a day or so… Just you wait and see"

I looked over at Jesse, who seemed pretty certain about his theory on Brett's current life or death situation. He hadn't even noticed that I was shocked at what he had just said, until I stopped walking and grabbed his arm.

"How do _you_ know that?" I asked, looking directly into his dark eyes.

"I don't know… Isn't it obvious?" He replied, shrugging.

"Um, No. It's not always that simple… I mean, people die from drowning you know"

"But he didn't drown, he choked on a little bit of water… There's a difference" Jesse raised his voice above mine, and poked a finger in my direction.

"Hardly" I mumbled, turning to continue walking up the rest of the hill.

"Susannah," He protested, stepping up beside me, being careful not to touch me. "… I thought I was trying to help you"

"I know…" I whispered. "… And I truly appreciate it" I stopped and turned to face him, as tears started to well up in my eyes.

"Please don't cry, Querida" Jesse spoke softly, as he wrapped his arms protectively over my shoulders. "… Not for _him_"

There was a brief silence as we both stood there on the footpath, almost near the top of the hill.

"I really love you, Jesse" I sobbed, covering my watery eyes with the back of my hands.

He slowly released his grasp around my shoulders and placed his hands on my wrists, gently pulling them away from my face. I let out an uncomfortable groan, and avoided his gaze. I must have looked like a complete wreck…

"… And I _really _love you, Susannah" Jesse whispered, as he turned my face towards his, and pressed his nose up against my own.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as my lips formed a slight upward smile. Jesse linked his arm around mine, and we continued walking the rest of the way home.

"Oh Suzie, honey!" My mother gasped as we entered into the lounge room. "What on earth happened?" She asked, as she looked over Jesse's and my own damp, dirty clothes. 

"Um, we had a little accident… I - well, I lost control of where I was going… And I fell into the pond" I said, letting my arms fall lifelessly at my side.

"… And I jumped in to save her" Jesse added, all rather heroically.

"Oh dear… Well, it seems as though you're a good bloke to have around hey?" My mum smiled at Jesse.

I rolled my eyes and rubbed my back in an uncomfortable manner. "Yeah, well, excuse my lack of enthusiasm, but I'm gonna go change out of these wet clothes"

* * *

I was bored out of my mind. It was around 8:30pm, and Jesse was off with my annoying little brother, Doc. Why can't he go call one of his dorky little friends over, and stop stealing my man! 

Anyway, I wandered aimlessly around the house, trying to find something to do…

As I wandered past the spare room next to Sleepy's, I noticed the large green pool table sitting there. I can't play pool, and I've never wanted to try it, but I was so bored that I thought I'd give it a try while no one else is around.

I picked up a stick form the side rack and emptied the balls onto the light green table. This was completely weird, and I didn't exactly know what I was doing, but I bent over and tried to aim the stick at a ball when I heard soft chuckles coming from my left, near the door.

"_Jesse_?" I practically choked, completely shocked to find him standing there. I thought he was with Doc, damn it!

Jesse continued to chuckle as he leaned casually against the doorway, with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Oh, Susannah…" He started, shaking his head in disbelief, as he observed the large table with scattered balls. "This is a sight to see!"

I looked around the room and shrugged my shoulders, agreeing that this was rather weird… For me!

"Man, I was bored, ok… I thought that you were with Doc?" I said, casually placing the stick onto the large table.

Jesse raised an eyebrow and started to walk towards me, on the side of the table next to the end I was standing at.

"One of his friends called him on the phone, so I thought I'd leave him alone…" He said, picking up one of the shiny pool balls, and examining it.

"Awe, how thoughtful" I said, kind of sarcastically. "So that's when you decided to come and see what I was up to?"

"Hmmm. Trying not to cause too much trouble? I hope" Jesse smirked. "You should've come and got me, if you were bored"

"Whatever - I thought you'd be too engrossed in discussing scientific things or something" I said, lacking enthusiasm in my voice.

"Susannah, you should know that I'd drop anything to spend time with you" He said, placing the ball back onto the table and stepping around to my end of the table. "Especially since you have no idea what you're doing" He grinned, as he picked up the stick, which I had earlier placed on the table.

"Huh?" I laughed out loud. "What, and I suppose _you_ do?" I asked, giving him a weird look.

"Obviously clueless" He sighed, shaking his head. "You forget that I've lived for so many years. I've grown used to modern day living, Susannah"

"Yeah, right. So let me guess, previous owners happened to have had a pool table, and you have spent your time watching them play?" I said sarcastically, as I rubbed an itch that was on my neck.

"Yes. Well, something like that anyway" Jesse smiled, casually resting one of his hands on the edge of the table. "At least I seem to have gained more knowledge than you have," He added, flashing his shiny white teeth.

"How rude!" I protested as I punched him, which didn't seem to even bother him at all. "It's not _my_ problem I've never played before, and that I don't silently watch others play!" I snarled up at him, wrinkling my nose.

"Then whose problem is it, then? He smiled casually.

Jesse didn't seem to be looking straight into my eyes though; he was looking at my hair. So I took the curtesy to fill him in. "Oh, yeah, I had a shower before… It's still wet," I said, running my fingers through my tangled, damp hair.

He raised one eyebrow in a sexy, curious kind of way. "You definitely should've called me…"

I pulled a slightly disgusted face as I grabbed the pool stick from Jesse's other hand, and poked the end of it into his stomach. "Don't be cheeky with me, Jesse - " I blushed, luckily being interrupted.

"I'm so sorry Susannah, I didn't mean it like that… " He quickly said as he shifted his weight, suddenly becoming a little uneasy.

"Umm, ok. Well if you know _so much_ about pool, how about you show me something?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah alright, good idea. Could you rack 'em for me" He said, taking the stick back off me.

"I beg your pardon?" I replied by looking up at him dumbfounded, not knowing exactly what he had meant by 'rack 'em'.

Jesse let out a short chuckle, and then he leant across me, brushing against my arm as he picked up a yellow ball from the table.

"See these… Get that black triangle thing over there…" He said, pointing behind me. "And put all of these little coloured balls inside it, yeah?" He smirked, looking down at my dumbfounded facial expression.

"Oh…" I said, drawing the word out slowly, feeling kind of embarrassed. "Well, I didn't know what you meant" I tried to defend myself as I started gathering the balls and putting them inside the triangle.

Jesse laughed a little as he moved around to the opposite end of the table, where he placed the white ball down.

"Now, come over here" Jesse said seriously, as he bent down and eyed the distance from the white ball to the coloured ones.

Ooh, yes please! I thought, as I stepped up beside him, trying hard not to stare at him as he leant over, positioning himself, getting ready to hit the ball. But I couldn't help it; my eyes won over my strong willed mind, and got the better of me. Like he would notice me checking him out when he's busy concentrating on hitting a ball, right?

"Susannah?" Jesse sighed, snapping my gaze away from his perfectly toned backside. "Are you watching?"

"Yeah…" I coughed, clearing my throat. "Yeah, I _was _watching"

Jesse looked up at me with a look of disbelief upon his face. "Really?" He questioned, slightly raising both of his eyebrows. "And, what exactly did you have you eyes on?"

"Err, you" I replied blankly, wishing I'd never even taken a peek.

"Thought so" He grinned, laughing to himself as he turned back to concentrate on the ball, which was sitting there, waiting to be hit.

"Shut up, Jesse" I said, blushing as I pushed back a few strands of hair behind my ear.

Forcing the stick backward in a swift movement, the white ball flew forward, sending all of the coloured balls flying in every direction possible.

"_Whoa_" I gasped, impressed as he sunk quite a lot of them in one go.

"Impressive, huh?" He smiled, walking around me to other side of the table.

"Yeah, well, I've seen better" I said to him blankly, not wanting him to get a big head or anything.

Jesse made some sort of grunting sound in response, and ignored me as he started sinking balls into the socket until only a few remained. I couldn't let him totally think that he's perfect, so I did what any normal person would have done. Stop him!

Just as he bent over to sink yet another ball, I moved over to where he was and slapped my hand against his arse, forcing him to miss the ball completely. Jesse was temporarily stunned, and obviously speechless as he slowly looked up at me.

"Sorry, I thought I saw a mosquito" I said, trying so hard to stop myself from cracking up in laughter.

"Hmmm" Was all he muttered as he raised a single eyebrow at me.

"Move over, it's my turn!" I laughed, motioning for him to move over, while holding my hand out for the stick.

Jesse cooperated, surprisingly without hesitation, handed me the stick, and moved over… A little.

"Do you mind?" I asked in a squeaky voice, looking at the space of distance that was now between us.

"Do _you_ mind?" He repeated, referring to my pervious act of um, physical abuse.

"Yeah I'm, err, sorry about that…" I stuttered, as I looked up at his face.

"Oh, don't be sorry… This just means revenge" He said, as I noticed a hint of light shimmer past his eyes.

"Hey! Don't forget your honourable intentions!" I tried to laugh, warningly pointing my finger right in front of his nose.

"How could I forget? …" Jesse smiled beautifully down at me. "I'd never treat a lady disrespectfully, Susannah" He said, drawing out my name into three very long syllables.

I nodded suspiciously, and looked down for a ball to aim for. "Right, now help me out here"

He chuckled…once again. And moved even closer beside me. "Ok, firstly, you need to move you hand down further" Jesse said, while moving my hand with his own as he spoke.

After he had positioned my hands properly on the stick, he now stood behind me, closely, causing my heart to skip a few beats… Suddenly, his arms enclosed around my body, taking a hold of the stick. He gently placed his hands over mine, and I could feel the warmth of his body up against my back, as well as feeling his breathing movements… Well this certainly shut me up!

"Ok" He whispered against my hair, sending light shivers down my body. Oh God I hoped he hadn't noticed that I was completely melting here!

"Now relax, and keep your eye on the ball" He continued to whisper, leaning forward a little more in the process, forcing me to bend down a little.

I think that maybe Jesse could sense that I was completely out of it, because he seemed to take over and forced the stick back, and then followed through, and hit the white ball toward the intended coloured one.

"Way to go!" I said with enthusiasm as the ball went into the hole.

I stood there, rather frozen, trying to ignore the fact that he was still practically hanging over me, and I was seriously sweating it out here. Not that this was an easy thing to just ignore!

Jesse finally decided to step away, taking the stick out of my hands. I turned around quickly and stepped sideways, catching him checking out my backside. He looked up, seeing me starring back at him, realising that I had um, yeah, noticed... I had expected him to get all apologetic on me and all, but whatever he was thinking, he didn't say anything and gave me an amused grin instead.

"Yeah, so…" I said, placing my hands onto my hips. "I suppose you do this often?" I said, meaning about him playing pool… But unknowingly, I guess he was thinking that I meant about him checking me out…

"Um… I don't know what would give you that idea," Jesse said, nervously glancing over my face.

"Well, you are pretty good at it" I said, pointing over my shoulder towards the pool table.

"Oh" He replied in a surprised tone. "Yeah, um, I guess I just picked it up form watching -"

Suddenly, we heard loud music blaring from Sleepy's room next door, and both of us jumped a little in a sudden reaction.

"Alright, well… Would you like to come up to my room?" I blurted out.

Jesse didn't even really need to respond he just smiled and followed me out into the hallway. But unfortunately for me, my mother called me to help wash the dishes. So I told Jesse that I'd meet him up there.

* * *

To my surprise, when I entered my room I found that Jesse was sitting at my desk, reading something on a piece of scrap paper. It only took me a few seconds to realise what exactly was written on that paper! _Shit – Brett's threat note_. And not to mention the '12:30pm – Mall' Which I had scribbled down beneath it. 

After Jesse had intently scanned the bold text, he looked up into my eyes sincerely.

"You didn't mention that you were going to _meet_ him at the mall" He spoke quietly, and seemed to look rather hurt.

"Jesse. No… That was before – You've got to understand, he wasn't going to stop. I thought that maybe if I talked to him…"

"You know what he's like. You know that he'd only hurt you again. Look at what ended up happening today!" Jesse frowned.

"I made a mistake," I said helplessly, letting my arms fall limp beside my body.

"You should have told me about this, before jumping on the phone" Jesse frowned, eyeing me with his glassy gaze.

"Look, I'm sorry" I said softly, as I walked past him.

Jesse quickly stood up and followed after me, stepping in front of me and taking my hands into his own.

"I don't want to argue with you, and I don't want you to be mad at me…" He spoke gently as he bent down a little to look into my eyes. "I just – I don't want you to get hurt, Querida"

"I am hurt" I half laughed, not knowing what else to say as I rubbed my back. "… I've got aches and pains _everywhere_"

But Jesse didn't seem to find it as funny as I did. "Why don't you lie down and rest… You've got to go to school tomorrow," He said as he guided me over to the bedside.

I moaned at the word 'school' as I helplessly flopped down on the bed, and buried my face in the mattress. It shocked me when I felt the bed sink down a little next to me... Was Jesse lying on the bed? I turned my head and saw that I was right!

We layed sideways across the width of the bed, silently, just taking in one another's presence. I was lying on my stomach, resting my chin in my hands, while Jesse layed beside me on his back, crossing his arms up behind his head. I suddenly felt that Jesse's eyes were upon me, so I slowly wandered mine over to check… I was right. He was looking at me, and he had a suspicious sort of grin upon his face.

"What's on your mind?" I asked in a curious tone of voice.

"Oh, I was just thinking…" He smirked, drawing out each word as he sighed happily.

I eyed him suspiciously; he was definitely up to something here…

"I don't think I'm gonna like where this is heading, am I?" I asked, fidgeting as I scratched my forehead.

He let out a low chuckle and positioned himself onto his side so that he was facing me.

"Hmm… Does a particular embarrassing _bedtime _story sound familiar to you? Because I somehow remember someone promising -"

"Yeah, alright Jesse! Yes, I do remember…" I whined, flopping my head back down onto the mattress.

Without warning, he started frantically tickling my side. "Don't make this harder on yourself"

I couldn't say anything to that; I was in stitches. I tried to squirm out of his grasp, except he was too strong, and my laughter had made me weak.

"Do you give in? Are you going to tell me?" Jesse asked, without giving up tickling me. So I tried to nod my head. "Is that a _yes_?" He chuckled, watching tears of laughter form in my eyes.

"I _will_ find your weakness one day, Jesse" I said, rubbing my side. "And when I do… _Whoa_, you better watch your back!"

"I choose to remain silent…" Jesse said, smirking and aimlessly rolling his eyes at the ceiling.

I narrowed my eyes down at him and poked his chest. "Oh really?" I said, propping myself up so that I was leaning over his chest.

"Anyway… You should know my weakness by now, Susannah" He said rather casually, smiling, as he gazed up at me with his dazzling eyes.

Hmm, I wonder if he meant me? Was _I_ his weakness? I decided that I'd test my theory out! I smiled down at his beautiful face, and slowly moved in to kiss him. I'm mean sometimes – I know it! Just as I was millimetres away from brushing my lips up against his, and once he had closed his eyes, anticipating my touch – That's when I backed off, deciding to tickle him instead...

"_Susannah_!" He uttered in complete shock. It didn't seem to be from the tickling though… Because Jesse isn't ticklish.

"I'm sorry Jesse, I couldn't help it!" I laughed hysterically at the look on his face. "I… I had to see if –"

But my words were abruptly cut off, as Jesse rolled me over and leaned on top of me… Pressing his lips against mine. It took about 3 seconds for my laughter to stop, and I totally melted into him, bringing my arms up, and around to massage his back.

He was unable to hold the weight of his body up, as I was gently pulling him down. So he eventually gave in, and dropped down on top of me, squishing me slightly… But, hey? This is _Jesse_ we're talking about here!

But unfortunately, Jesse soon seemed to regret kissing me or something… Because he got off me, with a look of concern upon his face. I was stunned, I mean, come on! So I returned the same look of concern, as he looked down at me.

"I'm sorry Querida… Please forgive me"

"Jesse, please –" I started to say, getting a little annoyed with his apologies.

"Was I squishing you?" He finished.

I was dumbfounded… I can't believe he was thinking about that! How _sweet_. My dumbfounded look soon turned into an amused one, and I started to giggle.

"Well, yeah… But – Hold on… Did you just say '_squishing_'?"

Jesse nodded at me. "Um, I believe that I did…"

"That's so _cute_" I interrupted in a childish voice. Ok, I'm guessing by the look on Jesse's face that he obviously thinks I have lost the plot or something…

"Are you feeling ok?" Jesse asked. "Or are you just trying to prolong the inevitable?"

"I'm not trying to prolong _anything_!" I chuckled. "I just think that hearing the word 'squishing' coming out of _your_ mouth, is hilarious"

"Really…" Jesse slowly said, giving the word multiple syllables. "Well then, maybe I should say it again?"

"Could you? Please… I _have_ to hear it again" I laughed, urging him to say it by shaking his arm.

"Only on one condition" He grinned cheekily, pointing a finger into my shoulder.

"What?" I asked a little wryly.

"You know _exactly_ what I want…" Jesse said smoothly, lying back, looking extremely… _Hot_!

I couldn't resist, and I definitely couldn't hold back any longer. My body took over and without any second thoughts, I moved on top, and found myself straddling him.

"Susannah" Jesse said softly, swallowing uncomfortably.

I hushed him by placing my index finger on his lips, leaning down, getting ready to kiss him… But to my total dismay, he _stopped_ me!

"Susannah, you promised me" He said seriously, as his strong hands held my body back by my shoulders.

I let a loud sigh escape from my mouth, and then couldn't help but to laugh. "I can't believe that you're more interested in hearing my stupid story, over _kissing_ me"

Jesse was silent for a moment as he looked intently up into my eyes. Then, the corner of his lips started to curl up into a grin. "There's plenty of time for that, later"

Ooh, now that caught my attention! I gave him a cheeky grin back and playfully slapped his chest. "Wise guy, huh?"

So I gave in to his request, and reached over to my nightstand, pulling out my purple diary from the top shelf. Jesse watched inquisitively as I carefully unlocked the diary with a small golden key.

"I haven't written in it since I was like 12… But when I was flicking through it the other day, I came across something interesting" I said slowly, as I gently flicked through the light purple pages.

"You know, my sisters used to keep diaries" Jesse said, as I briefly glanced up at him. "They would spend hours on end just writing…"

I think that he had expected me to say something right then, or make a comment…

"… I don't know what kind of things they used to write about though" He continued, in a tone that suggested he was asking me to spill gossip about what girls write about.

I suddenly stopped flicking when I had come across the page, which I had intended to find, and briefly scanned over my hand written text, before looking up at Jesse. His eyes flickered from the diary to my face, to the diary, and then back to my face again.

"You really are interested about this, aren't you?" I laughed.

"I haven't _heard_ it yet" He scoffed.

"You have to promise me that you won't laugh…"

"Ok…" He said slowly.

"That's not very convincing" I pouted.

"Susannah, I promise to contain my laughter to the best of my ability… But if it's funny -"

"Jesse, I'm _serious_!" I interrupted. "I just don't go around reading my diary entries out loud to anyone, you know"

"I am sorry… I know, It's just; you're building this whole thing up to be some sort of dark, and mysterious secret. I'm just dying to hear it, let alone concentrate on whether or not it's going to be funny"

"I used to write down my dreams, in here… And today, well, something brought memories back to me about one particular dream…"

"Well, come on… Don't let me hold you back" Jesse said, urging me to shut up and read.

"Ok…" I coughed, clearing my throat. "_Dear Diary_ -"

"Who exactly is Diary?" Jesse asked, interrupting me. "I never have understood why girls start off like that…"

"It's not - It's just… It's just how you begin… You know, like you're confiding in the diary or something…"

"Fair enough…" He shrugged, not completely understanding, but just agreeing anyway.

I stared at him for a brief moment, taking in his beautiful facial features. He noticed that I was getting side tracked again and stared back at me, before waving a hand in front of my face.

"Hello, I'm still waiting" He said, raising one of his eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah –" I coughed, clearing my throat. "Yeah, well, are you going to actually listen? Or are you going to continue to interrupt me every 10 seconds? Because if you are-"

"_Susannah_! Don't force me to rip that out of your hands and read it myself" He said impatiently, before chuckling.

"Now, forgive me… But shut up, and _read_!"


End file.
